My Primal Memory by Nao Matsunaga

This talk will be given by the artist of My Primal Memory, Nao Matsunaga, and Abraham Thomas, Curator of Designs and Lead Curator for Architecture at the V&A Museum.

In the exhibition My Primal Memory, Nao Matsunaga responds to his ideas and experiences of dual cultural and national identity, reflecting on his formative years growing up in Japan, and the latter part of his childhood in England. Matsunaga cites Japanese American artist Isamu Noguchi as an inspiration, as he dealt with similar tensions in his lifetime. Matsunaga explains ‘I feel I have a somewhat romantic view of Japan and its culture – it is a place I know from childhood and from holidays, so it holds a sense of nostalgia to me… I think this will be a starting point for further investigations into my identity.’ By creating work using primal materials and tools, he connects on an emotional level with cultures from eras passed, and shows that there are certain constants in human behaviour that have not, and will not change.

Although this is a deeply personal investigation, his work references ancient universal themes concerning the human condition. With a sense of longing for a solid identity, Matsunaga attempts to find his way through the two cultures that make up his personality, taking advantage of both and responding to subconscious, primal drives, in order to find a unifying whole.

About the contributors