Mariko Kobayashi

Venue: Gekko-ji Pond

Curator’s Text: Title :《Soil Your Feet and Open the World》

Mariko KOBAYASHI uses a wide variety of materials in her work, including cotton, hemp, Japanese washi paper, and clay, all of which are made by processing natural materials. These raw materials bear a variety of contexts and backgrounds, and through the combination of different materials with regional characteristics, a grand narrative is constructed, one of life, reverence for nature, and the relationship between nature and humanity.　　　　
This work features images of large spreading trees or veins of foliage rendered in a variety of bright colors. The intense physicality generated by Kobayashi's handiwork underpins her works and gives them a sense of vitality.
The work on display here is inspired by actual places and begins with thoughtful insights into the natural environment and the flora and fauna that live there. Her work Heat and Water, inspired by the Australian mountains and their ecological cycles, is based on an examination of the contrasting, titular elements, both of which are critical to the survival of life. The work features drawings of animals who live in the sweltering Australian outback.
This work shares the same central motif of leaf veins, but beneath them lies a white horse curled up in the fetal position. Horses were once an important animal in this area, and a sacred white horse still lives nearby at Omuro Sengen Shrine. Here the white horse, symbolizing early life, coexists with flora, and they complement each other as they grow, depicted through pronounced three-dimensional layers of embroidery and textile.
The work is installed at Gekko-ji Temple, a well-known Buddhist temple in the area, and displayed on the far side of a mystical garden pond. An extraordinary story unfolds as the work reflects on the surface of the water surrounded by the forest, trees, and deep darkness of the temple, making deep connections to the mystery of nature and the power of life, history, and culture.
Kobayashi focuses on expressing the cycle of life that occurs in nature through textile techniques, including weaving, dyeing, and embroidery.

Guest Curator：Miwa Kutsuna | Cooperation：Miyashita Orimono, Wataaki Orimono

Artist Profile: Mariko Kobayashi
The artist depicts different connections that exist in the world by utilizing textile techniques such as weaving, dyeing, knitting, and stitching. Her artist concept is based on the awareness of being conscious in the present moment, as we continue our life as mortal beings. Kobayashi’s work traces the long journey of how the flesh, the physical body that sep- arates humans and animals, returns to the earth, and continues a new life after the reincarna- tion. Her exploration attempts to unravel essential form of life, which is rendered in chaos cre- ated by overlaying colors and shapes of different materials.
Major exhibitions in recent years include the 2021 "Reborn-Art Festival 2021-22" (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Oshika Peninsula, Onagawa Station area), the 2021 solo exhibition "Over Story" (KOTARO NUKAGA/Tokyo), the 2020 solo exhibition " You Only Need to Bear the Sun” by KOTARO NUKAGA (CADAN/Tokyo).Received the 2019 "ONE ART AWARD" (Taiwan) Grand Prize.