Exhibition 'Face to Face’ at COBAKABA (18th Sep. - 6 Oct.)
1-13-15 Komachi, Kamakura, Kanagawa, 248-0006, Japan (+81467-22-6131)
*Need to order as the venue is a restaurant.
*further text in English is below.
「Face to Face」は、アーティスト・嶋野ゴローによるポートレイトの展覧会です。鎌倉駅にほど近い食堂・コバカバの壁をお借りし、2014年から進行中のプロジェクト「スカイプ・ドローイング」の歴史を過去の作品と共に振り返るディスプレイ、そして今回の日本滞在の間に製作した新作ポートレイトの原画もいくつか展示します。
‘Face to Face’ is a small exhibition being held at a local restaurant, Cobakaba, in one of the most papular tourist places in Japan called Kamakura. The exhibition consists of three parts – a visualised history of the artist’s ongoing project ‘Skype Drawing’, some new original drawing works that the artist have made during his stay in Japan, and live drawing sessions.
The live portrait drawing sessions will take place in the restaurant during the exhibition time, inviting voluntary models from the guests. The date and time for each session will be updated on this page. So please reply or leave comments here if you’re interested in being a model to put your name in the list. Or you can simply visit the restaurant to see the artist at the time.
Actually, it’s even possible to participete the portrait sessions in the ’Skype Drawing’ style though any kind of video chat tools like Skype, Hangouts, FaceTime, etc..
Skype Drawing Project is an ongoing project of the artist since 2014 that is an accumulation of the portraits of the family, friends and stranger of him made through Skype conversations with them.
It’s originally started to seek for any one to have a chat with because of the loneliness while the artist has lived in the UK for about six years. And the drawings have been occurred spontaneously after having those video chats with random people for a couple of weeks. They were first chosen from a circle of his close friends, but while the project was exposed, the broader range of people have contacted the artist from more many cities in the UK and Japan and even from the other countries in the world.
the unique aspect of the Skype Drawing is only the use of the video-chat tools. It doesn’t force the model to be in a kind of tension or frustration in the artist studio during modelling. Nor does they pose in a photograph – they’re expressive enough to catch some emotions to draw. It’s fascinating, even they’er strangers to each other, the artist and the model can make a relaxing atmosphere during the session by sharing the time, but not their personal spaces.
For the artist, the first motivation is to have a good conversation with anyone. The drawings are only the results of each conversation that always changes its style influenced by the models, seasons, location and so on.
So if you were interested in the work of the artist, please feel free to contact him at any time. Volunteer models are welcome not only during the show, but always.
Looking forward to seeing many of you in Kamakura.
Best,
Goro
Bio: Goro Shimano, a London based visual artist, was born in Japan in 1974. He had worked in the Japanese graphic design world with computer graphics as an independent illustrator for over twelve years. He now focuses on painting, particularly portraiture, and moved to the UK in 2009 to develop his practice in a more international context, to further explore his main questions about the face, identity, perception and representation. He has lived in Kamakura between 2007 and 2009.
Skype Drawing is a on-going portrait project of Goro since 2014, making portraits through Skype conversations with people from all around the world.
Goro has tried to use more randomness for his portrait making, that spontaneously occurs by conversations with others. Works in the project look more vividly remaining the primitive characteristics of the model that the artist possibly can create in his mind before forming a well-proportioned, self-consistent image of the person.
His original motivation to start this practice was only to find someone to have a chat with as he always has felt a part of his identity lost.
The information technologies realised more flexile lifestyles that can let you maintain your familiar job and relationships with old friends wherever you moved to in the world. But on the other hand, the difficulties tend to remain to get used to the life in the new community that could have helped to renew your identity. The case of himself who moved in the UK five years before the project seemed pretty similar to this.
When he realised he might be in a depression, after being stuck on bed for a day, he started from a little step to get out, saying 'Hello' to his neighbours again and decided to think what makes him happier – conversation. That eventually led him to re-evaluate the benefit of the internet as a conversation tool.
Skype Drawing was created in this process.
This also has reminded him what causes his primitive desire for drawing and what he need for it – an atmosphere of intimacy. Dialogues usually can not be easy to be a frank one when you have a stranger, but the new tools such as Skype make it more possible. He has drawing sessions with people on Skype which enable both the artist and the model to be relaxed in their own private spaces, making neither of them self-conscious.
After the first sessions for several months, Skype Drawing turned out a very contemporary approach for the modern portraiture that could brings the artist more variety of models from all around the world.
Goro still have been looking for his models as partners of the conversation on Skype, Hangout, FaceTime, etc. So please feel contact him via Facebook message or info (at) goro.cc if you got interested in the images in the online portfolio of Skype Drawing.
For all portraits in the project, please see his Skype Drawing page, goroshimano on instagram or Works of Goro Shimno on Facebook.
