Opened on 6 December 2010, the exhibition will last until 25 December 2010 at Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam and the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum. Earlier, the exhibition was displayed at Yakushi-Ji Temple, Nara (Japan) from 5 October to 11 November 2010.

 

Toba Mika who has brought “Katazome” to the world of painting has created new contemporary art. She has visited almost every region in Viet Nam. She paints to record the scenery as well as preserve Japan’s traditional art of Katazome, which has existed since the 12th century.

 

All paintings of Toba Mika use Japanese traditional dyeing technique called katazome which is suitable for grand-scale paintings like her artworks. Katazome is a method of dyeing using a resist paste applied through a stencil. In this kind of resist dyeing, a rice flour mixture is applied with a brush or a tool such as a palette knife. Pigment is added by hand-painting, immersion or both. Where the paste mixture covers and permeates the cloth, the dye applied later will not penetrate it. Katazome consists of 18 complicated stages so not many Japanese artists use this technique.

 

First came to Viet Nam in 1994, Mika discovered an eventful life, interesting contradictions and flexible moves that she did not see in a developed country like Japan. Since then Viet Nam has become the subject for her works.

 

 

Prompted by her love for Viet Nam, since the mid-1990s, Mika has created many paintings depicting major changes in Viet Nam during the process of the innovation. Around 100 paintings about Viet Nam were produced and most of them are landscapes. These artworks will help visitors find a lot of sceneries that have disappeared during the development of Viet Nam. There are no people in Mika’s paintings, but Mika said “I see the scenery’s soul and personality like human beings. Some of the landscapes have existed for hundreds of years and witnessed the lives and fates of many people. Every scene has its own soul.”

The “Nara and Hanoi – Linking Eternal Capitals” exhibition displays 26 paintings of Toba Mika, of which 2 paintings of the ancient capital of Nara and 24 landscape paintings of Viet Nam. Through Mika’s paintings, people can see images of Viet Nam development, from ancient streets with old, moss covered houses and high-rise buildings to streets adorned with advertising.

Toba Mika’s exhibitions about Viet Nam have been organized many times in Japan and Viet Nam. In 2003, her special exhibitions on major 26 art works were held in Viet Nam and Japan on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of Japan - Viet Nam Diplomatic Relations. In 2005, the exhibition named “Playing Eternal Music of Heart in the Old City, Hue” was held at the Royal Palace in Hue, a famous Cultural World Heritage in Viet Nam. That year, she was awarded the “Cultural Testimonial Award” by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. In 2007, “Scenes of Viet Nam - Far and Distant View” was held at Pola Museum Annex Tokyo in Ginza. In addition, she has won 19 prizes including “Kyoto Arts New Artist Prize” and “Urban Culture Incentive Award” in 2003.

More information: The Toba Mika’s Katazome exhibition

Phuong Anh (TITC) Collected