Panel eight - curated by SUZUKI Nana

Curator Comment by SUZUKI Nana about “The Inside Head” by TAKADA Moe.

A large pumpkin is painted on a tile. In the lower right is what looks like an eyeball. Inside the thick skin are seeds of various sizes, plump flesh, and praying human hands with raised veins. There are two associations. The first. What comes to mind when you think of pumpkins? Halloween probably comes to mind immediately. The origin of Halloween is an event to drive out evil spirits, witches, and other things that have a negative influence on people. It is also said to be a celebration of the autumn harvest. October 31 is also Obon in Japan, a day when the spirits of the dead come to visit their families. The boundary between life and death becomes dim, and somehow people's hands have gotten caught in the thick fruit. These praying hands also have a strong religious meaning.

The second. If you pay attention to the skin, it also looks like the placenta of a pregnant woman. In the upper right edge of the pumpkin, there is a line of uneven thickness connecting the pumpkin and the outside. I felt that this was the umbilical cord connecting the mother and the child in her belly. The plump fruit and seeds of various sizes drawn with a fine touch suggest a child, while the large hands inside the pumpkin may be praying for the child to be born in peace.

Curator Comment by SUZUKI Nana about “Beyond the Rocks” by Darci HUNT.

This photograph gives the viewer concise information. It is composed of a large expanse of ocean and flat rocks that seem to be pointing to the horizon. The horizon is dark and wide in the center of the image and seems to go on forever. The ripples on the sea and the way the water is flowing all around the area are very moving to the viewer. Looking at the top and bottom of this photograph, the images seem to be mirrored. The word ‘inversion’ means the opposite or reversal, so anyone who sees this photo will immediately feel that it is an ‘inversion’. However, upon closer inspection, the two photos are not exactly the same. The rocks in the upper left are larger and thicker than those in the lower left. Thus, the rocks on the top and bottom are different from each other. They seem to be the same, but are not the same at all, and this is also what we can call ‘INVERSION’. And then there is the beautiful sea and the rocky outcrops. These also give an impression of opposites to the viewer.

Moving waves and immobile rocks. Stillness and motion. This photograph, in which opposites line up, is truly a work of ‘INVERSION’.