MICHIKO INAMI
8TH JUNE 2015 - 27TH JUNE 2015

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PENCIL AND ERASER DRAWINGS BY MICHIKO INAMI: SEARCHING FOR IMAGES DEEP WITHIN

One of the fundamental qualities of drawing is freedom, but it is not easy to find drawings that actually convey this sense. So it is a delight when I come across such pieces. I was deeply intrigued when I saw Michiko Inami's drawings.

This "sense of freedom" is not the result of the artist's drawing recklessly and freely. By freedom I mean drawings that give an impression of "non-confinement." They are drawings that evoke a sense of being in a meadow. It is a meadow with no trodden path, and the images are youthful and fresh. The artist searches for her image through repeatedly drawing and erasing with a pencil and eraser. Soon, ambiguous forms begin to appear from the canvas. The process is somewhat reminiscent of surrealist automatic drawings. In fact I have never seen Ms. Inami at work, so do not know how the actual process is like, but that is the impression I receive from her pieces. 

Ms. Inami says it requires much effort to move her heart into a "state" suitable for drawing. I assume this is because she peels her daily senses away from her body, one by one, and dives into the depths of her heart when she draws.This must be why the images she creates are so pure. It is by no means an easy process. 

Yuji Akimoto
Director, The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts
Director, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazaw