～ Giving and receiving ～

The world of nature, where all living things are dynamic and relationships weave through the drama of life and death. In this fertile world of life, everyone is kept alive by giving.

Plants grow by being given brilliant light from the sun, nutrients from the earth and carbon dioxide exhaled by animals. Animals sustain their lives by feeding on the flesh and blood of plants and other animals. Pieces that spill out in the repeated workings of nature may become the material for creating new stars and suns.

When I reflect on the magnificent cosmic reincarnation, I sometimes wonder if perhaps the underlying principle of the natural order is one of giving and more specifically, one of receiving.

Somewhere along the way, I feel that we modern people have developed an arrogant and controlling attitude towards nature and have taken its bounty for granted. We even started to abuse and exploit nature by taking more than it has given us and trying to destroy that relationship ourselves.

I believe that we can rebuild our relationship with nature if we can once again be humble and receive all the blessings that nature has to offer with love and gratitude. 

The theme ‘Embrace’ conveys the message of receiving nature’s bounty with care and love. At the same time, it is an image of nature embracing us. We are wrapped up and kept alive by the love of nature, and we hope that we can respond to that love by wrapping the world around us.

The character Earthmom appears in my works and watches over nature and all living creatures with kindness and severity as the Earth’s mother. The painting I have created is inspired by the creation myth, which tells the story of how this world came to be and represents how Earthmom brings blessings to the world. Its essence is love, embrace and giving.

The character Mee who is always holding various objects, represents a human being who receives many blessings from Earthmom. The message is that we are constantly receiving many blessings in our lives. At the same time, I thought that receiving could also be portrayed as embracing, loving and giving, which are inextricably linked—giving and receiving. The images common to these are integrated and expressed in the word ‘Embrace’.