Interview Kotao Tomozawa| Exhibition "Kotao Tomozawa Solo Exhibition "SPIRALE"

——You've been holding solo exhibitions in succession for the past year. What is the motivation that drives you to paint?

It's fun to draw, isn't it? However, it is not interesting to draw things like "Don't draw this". It's fun to decide that "this can't be drawn at all" and boldly challenge it. So, it may seem like you are drawing the same picture every time, but I try to incorporate colors and light that I have never used before, and I'm always trying to challenge myself. I am often worried, “Are you okay?” Are you sleeping?” (laughs). Yes, I know that I'm drawing mad amount, but I'm okay because I'm enjoying it.

——Speaking of Kota Tomozawa, it is an oil painting work of a person wearing a slime. This series is also centered on this exhibition, but how did you decide to use slime on your own work?

When I was in the first year of entering the art university, I was having a hard time drawing. “Everything in this world is a lie! I'm a lie too!" So all the production had stopped, but at the same time, I found a slime that my friend had left at home, and when I noticed it, I was wearing it from my head. Then, the feeling of breathing stopped, the feeling of entering the nose, the feeling of touching the retina, and everything was very pleasant. I realized that I was definitely here, and I was able to feel relieved.

——Was there a time when you were bothered by the "complex that makes you null no matter what you draw?"

When I draw, all the motifs that are drawn in the examination, such as plaster statues and cow bones, seem to have melted (laughs). At the time of comment, it was often said, "Because I'm not a bronze." The drawing was bad, and he said, "I'm bad. I think it's not good enough." But Slime was able to draw better than anyone else, and through it I felt like I was able to paint what I felt in my life. Moreover, it was not made by twisting something, but simply drawing it obediently and simply, I thought it was a very strong expression.

——What exactly do you feel when you live?

When you are alive, everyone feels pressure and pain. For example, that's right? Slime is an image of salvation for it. But at the same time, it seems that some people seem to be oppressive. There are many ways to feel my paintings depending on the viewer. There are some things that I didn't expect.

——The person wearing the motif slime may be Mr. Tomozawa himself or a baby doll. What is the position of each one?

"I" is the axis of the theme of this work. Therefore, I would like to simply draw a "human being living here now" in my motif, which I actually wear a slime. On the other hand, does the doll look like an experimental bench? I use it when I take a slime whole body, jump out of my eyeball, or do something difficult for humans. However, the doll called Luki-chan, which I always use, is something I have since I was a baby, and I feel like a person. Except for myself and Luki-chan, I rarely model my friends. Sometimes special friends who want to wear a slime appear (laughs). This is also similar to Luki-chan, but the relationship between myself and my friends at that time also appears in the picture, so it feels like a diary.

——When you look at the slime drawn by Kotao Tomozawa, you will see how to put the highlights. Do you have any particular interest?

Well, it's important to put the highlight. Highlights are boldly put in to give out the feeling of the slime that changes without stopping, the feeling of discomfort to remember when things shine brightly. However, this is a way of drawing that makes me angry when an art teacher sees it (laughs). Because it is said that dazzling whites should not be used too much. But I ignore it, and I rush into "Yes" where I think, "Is it a little ugly?" Then, the unnatural comes out, and the eyes of the viewer are a little flickering. That's why my paintings are often said to be realistic, but they're never realistic and they're not good. If someone sees it, it may seem ugly. But I dare to do that.

——Kotao Tomozawa's work has a strong color. How do you perceive the color in yourself?

I can't use the color that came out of the tube as it is. Mix it until the moment of pinning comes and use the color you love. It may change from the color I imagined, but it is said that the same color can never be made again, so I feel like I love and paint the color I meet every time.

——Do you sometimes start your work from the colors I met in once-in-a-lifetime encounter?

Yes, right? Or maybe, most of the time. Also, because oil paints don't dry easily, all the paints on campus are influenced by other paints. Acrylic is dry, so I can decide this paint here, this paint here, this is this paint. So, when you finish drawing the background and start drawing the person's skin, the color of the background also enters into it, and the color of the skin made in that way also enters another place. Everything is linked. Oil painting is a media that can't predict what will happen and can't really answer it. The coordinate axis is not a plane, but a universe. That's interesting.

——The relationship between the paints may be similar to the relationship between humans and slime in Kotao Tomozawa's work, in the sense that they ooze each other.

That's right! When I drew it, I noticed it, but it is linked. However, I don't always think and draw a lot, and when I'm drawing, I'm desperate and don't remember much. After finishing the painting, I often wonder, "Why did you draw this?" (laughs). I’m scared when I paint again. “How did you paint?” Even if you keep painting so much, it will be.

——Please ask me about this exhibition "SPIRALE".

This is a solo exhibition at a large venue, and the number of works exhibited is the largest ever. I'm still immature now, but I drew as much as possible with the expression I can do now. I want you to look closely with the naked eye. We will also exhibit the first three-dimensional work this time. It's a must-see too.

——In this exhibition, from past works to the latest works, are there any parts that feel evolution on your own?

It's true that it's very different every time. So evolution……Oh, you've recently started to draw a very large picture. In the past, I used to draw a size called No. 50 as if I had a grudge for about half a year. But now I can draw a bambang on a 2-meter-long man called No. 130. And freshly alive. In the past, I used to face each other with a feeling of "Yes, I draw", but now I can draw like a breath. I painted a lot, so my body remembers it.

——It seems that the way you face when drawing is different between small and large pictures.

Well, if it's big, you won't know the translation. For even my lips are bigger than my face. But that's comfortable. If it is a small picture, you will understand the translation. Because I can grasp what I think is strange, things like fixing it just happen, and as a result, I feel like "I was able to draw a null and uncomfortable picture well." But when I don't understand the translation of a big picture, I just rely on the pure feeling of "I'll do it!" So, it's not just a good picture, you can feel passion, and you can make a refreshing picture or a picture that shows why I wanted to draw it.

——By the way, do you listen to music while painting?

I'll listen to you. Recently, I often listen to German NEU!, Fishmans, and Shintaro Sakamoto. But I'm dragged into the lyrics, and I really want to close my eyes and listen to it, so maybe I'm more likely to play videos. "Firebird", "Full House" and "Terrace House" (laughs). Also, there are times when you play horror games on YouTube. I'm so lonely when I paint. You are fighting a terrible battle alone. If you are more scared than yourself in the real situation of horror games, you can feel safe.

——Does this video affect your work? For example, there is a work like "Terrace House" in this exhibition.……。

Yeah, I wonder if that’s there (laughs). There are some parts that are flowing to make your head empty, so I feel that it has no effect on my own. But I remember that when I was painting this picture, I was playing this video.

——During this exhibition period, your first collection of works "KOTAO" will be on sale in advance. What kind of content is it?

The main works from February of last year to the present are contained, but I am tightly condensed to the transformation. That period was so intense that it could not be for me, so when I look at it, it's a great emo (laughs). Also, I had a photographer take a picture of the work, but this is just as cool as it is. Before I always draw, there is a goal of "I like this kind of picture", and I put a brush at the place where "Is it completed?" I just looked at the photos that I took, and said, "Oh, I really drew such a cool picture." I think that my work will be completed for the first time after I took it. So, I think it is a collection of works that can be seen in the most beautiful state of my painting.

——Have you been spending so much time?

As a personal story, when I was drawing the first work included in this collection of works, an incident occurred in which my house was lost. Then, after living in a share house with a rent of ¥9,250 (accident property), I will continue to this day. This collection of works is packed with such turbulent times, "Is it Fuji-Q Highland?"