Rieko Fujinami: Artist Statement - Anonymity
- It’s a characteristic of the contemporary world, that in the midst of daily activity
- we can suddenly feel isolated and anxious; questioning own existence and our future.
- Extraordinary circumstances like war, natural disaster, or accident, can turn our personal
- identities, thoughts and histories into mere numbers of dead and injured reported on the
- evening news. Gradually all memory of the real human being disappears, leaving only the
- anonymous numbers and photographs in an old newspaper.
- Even in ordinary day-by-day life we hope that someone will be able to see past the differences
- in our physical traits of age, gender, ethnicity and recognize our original existence and
- real mind and voice, as found in the Zen Master’s question “What was your face before you were born?”
- We ask ourselves “Will anyone remember me when I’m gone?” and wonder what will be remembered.
- We look for a deep affinity with another person, but it is very difficult because everyone
- has a mask constructed for their roles in society such as parent, spouse, child, or job position.
- As I look at the faces around me, I see many faces come out of the same person as their thoughts
- and moods, excitement and repose come and go. I’m amazed to find in the face of a tough man,
- the momentary face of a gentle old woman, a wise old man beaming from the face of a small girl,
- or the flash of hidden anger suddenly revealed in the face of a timid soul.
- I try get behind the mask, to capture that anonymous ingrained essence in my work.
- One reason I have chosen etchings and frescos as my prime media is because of the
- strength of copper and plaster as I struggle to make my marks. Water and acid work
- over time, and time allows for the essence, and the unconscious feelings, to come to the surface.
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Sometimes I find that the symbols of universal memory, and of the human condition,
- can only be sufficiently anonymous and generalized by moving from the human face
- to the exploration of plants as I have done most recently in the Locus series of etchings.