Philosophical Words and Symbols
-Prologue to the solo exhibition of Toru Harada
Words are philosophy itself.
Expressionists are constantly coining new terms in various shifts, such as environmental change, situational change, so that we can move forward step by step as we live in a new era. It is difficult to say whether we have evolved or degenerated. This is because technological evolution is not the same as real evolution.
The world is back to a world divided by the Covid-19 and the ‘cold war’ that seemed to have ended before is once again being fought by politicians with no dignity, principles or ideals who, under the guise of a ‘new cold war’, want to start a war before the epidemic is over.
There is a water town on the outskirts of Shanghai—Zhu Jia Jiao. This is where Toru Harada set up his studio and lived and worked for a while. I am not sure whether he made his work while wandering or wandered while making it, but he rendered three-dimensional works by reconstructing old discarded local objects as he moved from one place to another. I also have a studio there.
I was in Japan during the rather long years of Covid-19, I met Toru Harada through social media, I interviewed him in a town called Hagi. I heard a new series of works about living in the moment, a range of emotions that somehow merge and fly somewhere beyond time and space, words, sounds, actions, laughter and crying.
People spend their whole lives loving others. They may be with someone they don’t love yet, even though they don’t love them back. Maybe it’s because they can’t ‘convince’ themselves, or maybe it’s because they’re frustrated with the time they’re spending together. So what exactly is ‘love’?
I am dissatisfied with everyone and everyone lives in dissatisfaction. Now, in the silence and solitude of the night, I wish to redeem myself and regain some of my pride. Strengthen me, all souls of those people I loved, please support my weakness, and keep me from all the corrupt smells and falsehoods of the world. I know very well that once my heart has left me, it will never return, and I barely hide my “weeping” in a mask to conceal my weak and “fragile heart”.
Does such an injury stem from pride or “shared space” or time? A soul lost in the “unconditional” and constant belief in “that thing”. No amount of beautiful disguise can cover the daily neglected indifference to daily life. It is only when they no longer understand love that they lament that they are ‘egoists’.
I bought myself peony flowers on my birthday. I wanted light pink but they only had dark pink, so I bought six in dark pink and two in green. I miss the flowers and that florist that I regularly receive from my long-distance lover while studying in Paris
We value someone and are valued by someone in our lives. In our ordinary daily lives we want to protect a ‘false relationship’ that has lost its ‘truth’. I want to live ‘in the moment’ in my own way so that I can create beautiful poetry, even if it’s just a few lines. And when I don’t feel well, I want to look up at the beautiful sky.
Through Toru Harada’s new art works I can feel my real joys and sorrows, which is made up of various symbols, letters and emotions. I try to imagine how you feel when you see the work, but only “you” know what you feel.
Shun Daiba Atelier
