Tomoko Hayashi | Reweaving the Rainbow

Tomoko Hayashi | Reweaving the Rainbow’ was held as part of the ‘Support for Young Creators/Grant Program’ conducted by the Nishieda Foundation, a Public Interest Incorporated Foundation.

—

Zuiun-an stands in the Kamigamo district of Kyoto, where historical landscapes extend far and wide. A solo exhibition by artist Tomoko Hayashi (1980-) will be held against the backdrop of this stately home, which still houses a tearoom, storehouse, and beautiful gardens. 

Up until now, Hayashi, who studied dyeing and weaving in Kyoto, has presented works interposed with physicality under the theme of the universal emotions that are created between people. These works have sometimes made use of cutting-edge technology. Hayashi, who returned to Kyoto after having created works both at home and abroad, touches on the abundance of nature and ancient history, and uses the various relationships born through communion with them as clues for facing her own existence. 

In this exhibition, which follows the diary left by her grandfather, Hayashi takes as her source of inspiration her observations of the thermal phenomena of Mt. Aso (which continues to be an active volcano even now), plants which it is feared will become endangered in Kyoto, and flowers that have coevolved and blossomed in botanical gardens. She is also inspired by Midorogaike Pond, which contains lifeforms from the Ice Age, the stones that carry the history of the Kamo River, and the Kegon philosophy（Huayan school of Buddhism） which influences her approach to art. Drawing upon this, the exhibition includes new works such as photographs, textiles, fragrances, and installations based on interactive works, and gives consideration to the rhythm of life that flickers in the eternity of nature, human activities, and creative endeavors.

The poet John Keats once lamented Newton’s discovery of the spectrum of light as the unraveling of the rainbow and the loss of its poetic beauty. Is it possible to weave this unraveled rainbow once again? Hayashi reorganizes different fields such as nature, science, art, and thought from her own unique perspective, and presents them as cosmic textiles.

What kind of relationship will you form with the world when a new rainbow appears?