It is my belief that works of Nana Tamamoto are something more “created” than “painted.”  (I think this explains why I felt three-dimensional pieces like “Tightness,” which I saw at the personal exhibition venue, naturally fit in well with other two-dimensional artworks.  However, here I would like to mention major tableaux of Tamamoto only.)  Her work is the composition of different fabrics and threads sewn on a board, and various colors overpainted several times.  It’s hard to tell whether those forms are concrete or symbolic.  Examining carefully with my eyes the texture of those materials intertwining with such forms, and multilayered colors, I felt something which I couldn’t explain well arising in my heart.  I presume I was sensing “life” which is unexplainable but surely exists, and has an organic movement.  I don’t doubt that something deep inside of Tamamoto’s works is somehow connected with the richness and depth of “life.”  I believe Tamamoto’s own personal experience has affected them a lot.

However, what we see on the outer layer of her works is not too realistic at all.  It has never possibly happened that She depicts her inner world just violently.  Instead, her works are like representations of a world of fairy stories or fables full of imaginary shapes and colors.  I personally believe that it is this modulation from a deeper layer to an outer layer that makes people appreciate Tamamoto’s works.  Also, this inevitably makes me wonder about the act of “creation” that enables such modulation.

It won’t be that hard to imagine that Tamamoto spends a lot of time and energy on developing her oeuvres.  However, in my belief, the process of creation and hand working could be the act of her cherishing herself by objectifying her inner world and, say, her singing a berceuse to her own soul, even if such a process is sometimes challenging.  If not, had she really been able to complete her collection that consumed lots of energy and time, and sometimes carries serious messages, without any breakdowns?  Say she could’ve, but I imagine such a work would remain something only hostile, something she depicted by just enlarging her inner world.

I’ve heard that Tamamoto’s works are more popular among women, and I stretch my imagination: Nana (the berceuse) for Nana (Tamamoto) is now sung for every woman (“nana”) and deeply resonating with each of them. 

When I was told that Tamamoto’s artworks would be exhibited in traditional Japanese houses in Toyama Prefecture where she had been born, I felt so happy for her because I was sure they would be the great cradle for her and her works.  Her collection fits in best with places that have kept memories of “life” of people who lived there.  I can hear songs beautifully in resonance. 

Wataru MITANI

Curator, Tanabe City Museum of Art, Wakayama Prefecture