Ayaïro is a popular artist who has been making a splash in Asian and European circles. Her work, which sublimates elements of American pop art and good old Japanese scenery into contemporary art, is nostalgic, pop and fun.
Having held a number of international exhibitions, we had a chat with her about her origins, how she became an artist, and the way she creates her works.
（メルヘンのさと - Print.ver, H 33.3cm x W 24.2cm x D 2cm, Painting）
Ayaïro's new canvas print『メルヘンのさと』
Available in 15 limited editions.
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Please tell us how you became an artist.
I've loved drawing since I was a child, and I heard that as long as I had a piece of paper and a pencil, I could sit quietly all day. However, I had not attended art school so I created my current style by myself. I didn't start working as an artist until about 2019. At the time, I was just drawing pictures because I liked to, but when a friend of mine suggested me to hold a solo exhibition at a café in Tokyo, and some people really came to purchase my work and said, "Looking at it makes me feel better." - it's a feeling that I couldn't forget and that's when I decided to try drawing more for people other than myself, and also started my career as an artist.
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Please tell us about the theme of your current work.
The main motif of my works are Satoyama landscapes and the children who live there. I majored in English at university and studied abroad in Canada, so I had a lot of exposure to foreign cultures on a daily basis. In the midst of all these, I gradually became more and more aware of the hometown I was born and raised in, and realized how much it shaped my identity. Therefore, when I started to create my works, I decided to emphasize on the land of Satoyama, where I was born and raised, and dig deeper into my roots. So, for me, creating art is also a way to reexamine my roots.
The children in my works reflect my own childhood in Satoyama, but at the same time, children are a symbol of purity, and every time I paint them, I want to remember the innocence I had as a child. Nature and children always remind me of the importance of simplicity and being as you are, which we gradually forget as we grow older and live our everyday lives in this information society. People often say that my works express loneliness and nostalgia, but I feel that this is probably because adults in modern society are gradually losing these "things from the past".
What are some of the things that you are conscious of in the process of creating your style?
One thing that I am conscious of is to keep my work simple. By keeping it simple, I want to make it easy for anyone to understand the message. By eliminating unnecessary information, I try to leave as much space as possible for the viewer to freely imagine. This is also the reason why I do not draw faces. It is often said that my works look like those from picture books, but I feel that by not drawing the faces, a strong narrative can be created. Once the work is out of my hands, it becomes more important for me to know what the recipient will perceive rather than the emotion I put into it or how I wanted to draw it.
Also, I place as much importance on location scouting as I do on production. Almost all of my works are modeled after real landscapes. It is very important that the subject matter is real, even if the method of expression is not. Nowadays, it is easy to search for various landscapes online, so of course it is easy to paint using those photos. But if you do that, you won't be able to create real emotions because you haven't "experienced" them. As an artist, I think it is very important to incorporate what I have seen and felt in my life into my paintings. Therefore for me, going to various places and encountering various landscapes is as important as actually painting with brushes and paints.
How did you complete your current style and what influences did you have in the past?
From a conceptual point of view, Ghibli's works have had a great influence on me. In particular, the view of nature depicted in his early works such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Castle in the Sky", it gave me the very feeling of how I have been nurtured since I was a child. I also love its atmosphere of the Showa era, so I researched on the clothes and accessories of girls in the Showa era and incorporated them into my works.
In terms of expression, I am influenced by American pop art, such as Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Romero Britto, etc. I am strongly attracted to bold and charismatic visuals that are easily accessible to the masses. I think my current style is a mix of all of these. I aim to create a new yet nostalgic worldview that combines the good old Japanese culture with the characteristics of pop culture that can be easily conveyed across borders and generations.
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Last but not least, do you have any ideas for works that you would like to execute?
At the moment, I am mainly working on the theme of Satoyama, but I would like to explore Japan from a different perspective, such as the sea and towns. I'd also like to develop a series that focuses more on the Showa era. In the end, the Japanese culture that is so-called "hot" in the world is only a part of Japan, and I believe that the culture and spirit that Japanese people are proud of can be found in many ordinary, everyday things. It's not that I feel that I have to depict Japan because I am Japanese, it's simply that when I picked up things that I liked in my daily life, I realized that they were all connected to the beautiful spirit and nature of Japan. Therefore, I would be grateful if I could continue to cherish my daily experiences and express them in my works, while at the same time preserving the good aspects of my home country in the form of art.
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Ayaïro's Profile
Born in Tokyo in 1991.
The signature of works is children running around in Satoyama, a place rich in nature.
Using the local landscape of where she was raised since childhood as a base, she explores how
the nature and people relate and live with each other.
She develops a pop and nostalgic world, depicting nostalgic landscapes with simple elements
and colorful colors.
＜Art Fair (Excerpt.)＞
2021 Art Taipei
2020 UNKNOWN ASIA Online
2019 Art Revolution Taipei
＜Solo Exhibition＞
2022. 05 Galerie Ovo (Taipei)
2022. 02 Waluso Gallery (London)
2021 JIKE HAUS (Tokyo)
＜Group Exhibition (Excerpt.)＞
2021 “The Very Nice Group Show” Galerie Zberro (Paris)
2021 “Live” Galleria Avenue / Riverside Club (Tokyo)
2021 “Super Flat Solutions” Ye Fine Art Gallery / Contemporary Tokyo (Shanghai)
2021 “Sweet As Summer” Galerie Zberro (Paris)
2020 “水のある風景” gallery DAZZLE (Tokyo)
2020 “COLLECTIVE” Park Gallery（Tokyo）
2020 “ZINE Week” gallery DAZZLLE (Tokyo)
2020 中目黒 LOUNGE (Tokyo)
2019 “GIFC Tokyo” アニエスベーギャラリーブティック（Tokyo）
All artworks mentioned above are available on TRiCERA.
