Looking into the Mirror Pond: Woodcut prints by Nana Shiomi

The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation is pleased to announce a solo exhibition by Nana Shiomi to coincide with the publication of her catalogue, “Looking into the Mirror Pond”. Nana Shiomi came to London in 1989 to study at the Royal College of Art after having practised printmaking in Japan. After re-examining Western culture in the early 1990s she has moved on to a consideration of her own Japanese culture.

 

“Nana Shiomi is an extraordinary artist who studied with us and subsequently has gone on to a strong career exhibiting her own work. She exemplifies the interchange of influences between East and West that the RCA has been proud to nurture. From my first encounter with her, I have noticed a ‘certainty’ in her work. Her vision has a clarity that the precision of printmaking draws out and yet there remains an enigmatic and intriguing space that defies complete analysis. Her work is delightful and yet disturbing.”

– Chris Orr RA, Professor Emeritus, Royal College of Art

 

Shiomi states, “I am neither a painter nor a sculptor, but a printmaker.　For me this is essential. Every profession bestows on its practitioners a way of looking at things, an outlook on life. I believe that all I know about the mysteries of life, I have learnt through my plates and prints. I developed an interest in contemporary art in a seminar on Marcel Duchamp at Tama Art University, Tokyo. The concepts of Duchamp’s work such as- “art can be multiple”, “art can be ready-made”, “art and language” and “art as performance”, seemed to me the very essence of contemporary art. And at the age of 20, I took to “hanga” (prints).

 

A prerequisite of prints is the fact that plate and print are always opposite configurations. I soon encountered dualistic principles everywhere, such as- “right and left”, “top and bottom”, “East and West”, “man and woman”, etc. It is no mere coincidence that most of my work is composed of two opposing sides, right and left since then. I also instinctively chose to work in water-based woodcuts. The fact that I have chosen the traditional woodcut technique- using the Baren to spread the water-based ink and let it soak into the Japanese paper – as the intended method of my communication was an integral element in order to determine my style.

 

“Looking into the Mirror Pond” is an exhibition title, but at the same time, it symbolizes my whole life.”

– Nana Shiomi