What’s in a room?
Essay Series: Introductions 2/8
Eight months back, my sister and I made the decision to rent a spacious white studio space in the middle of Osaka.
We happened across the listing one evening and as if it was screaming, “Once in a lifetime opportunity! Jump now or forever hold your peace!” through the screen, we decided to take the leap. It stopped our plans dead in our tracks but apparently all the signs confirmed it was the right decision.
It was situated in the same area we were born in... I happened to have a membership to the gym across the street... on the same train line as our station…
Plenty of good reasons to invest, right? We created visions in our heads of what living in this freshly remodeled, squeaky clean space could be. Right up until the rose colored glasses came off, it was a nice dream indeed.
The small things that we had brushed off in the beginning started to poke out from the grass.
Maybe it was a little too far from the station after all…the space a little too clean, too new to work in… the security system a bit too much of a hassle…and not enough natural light for our projects.
The list of cons started to exponentially outweigh the pros.
It was a tough cookie to swallow, but we quickly realized that the space was only a bandaid for our situation and that a studio doesn’t fix problems or encourage more "creativity". After a short six months, we parted ways with the pretty white room.
Renting a space isn't the worst choice a person could make in their life, but I was still upset that I had allowed the allure of an idea get the better of me. I tried to not beat myself up over the months that followed and instead reminded myself that nothing is lost. I am grateful that the white room kicked me into a headspace that enabled me to appreciate what I had. Even though it was a liability, discovering how much effort it takes to keep something like this afloat physically, financially and mentally made me a better guardian of my own energy.
Taking a deeper look at the textures and elements around me also inspired some art pieces, which then inspired the name for my exhibition that I had at the beginning of this month: Look Close, Look Far. I learned some new things by taking a step back to enjoy the beautiful, bigger picture of all these crazy experiences after we gave up the space.
And another plus to moving my practice back home:
I actually have time to clean our house now.
Otsukare and goodnight.
Hey lovelies. This is an 8-part series entitled “Introductions” that will slowly make its way to you over the next few months. I’m sharing some pieces of my life and how I started creating along with a little insight into the process for some current projects. Share your life with me too and enjoy the ride.
“Our first skin is our human skin. Clothes make up our second skin. If this is the case, then isn’t our third skin made up of our living spaces-
the walls, doors, and windows that surround the human body?”