portrait paintings
Past Portraiture: An exploration of ancestral affiliation, 2012, acrylic and pen on board
Exhibited at Crows Nest Regional Gallery 2012
Artist Statement
Portraiture has been used as a device for nobility to remain immortal in time, to tell stories, for shameless self-promotion, and for an exploration into a deeper self-understanding. It is a means to penetrate into the character of the sitter and the artist. As a young emerging artist portraiture has become an important element for further exploration in order to create a sense of self-understanding. After witnessing historical documents of my ancestor Samurai Katsumoto Katagiri, for the first time in 2011, a spark ignited my curiosity and desire to experiment with the subject of self-representation and the human form. By using the aesthetic f traditional Japanese art and ornamental design, this body of work has culminated from research into portraiture linking to my Japanese heritage. It also documents an important journey of self-discovery, understanding and transformation, as referenced in each work's title.
Portraiture has been used as a device for nobility to remain immortal in time, to tell stories, for shameless self-promotion, and for an exploration into a deeper self-understanding. It is a means to penetrate into the character of the sitter and the artist. As a young emerging artist portraiture has become an important element for further exploration in order to create a sense of self-understanding. After witnessing historical documents of my ancestor Samurai Katsumoto Katagiri, for the first time in 2011, a spark ignited my curiosity and desire to experiment with the subject of self-representation and the human form. By using the aesthetic f traditional Japanese art and ornamental design, this body of work has culminated from research into portraiture linking to my Japanese heritage. It also documents an important journey of self-discovery, understanding and transformation, as referenced in each work's title.