GUARDIANS OF DREAMS 2022
Because dreams shape the world
International Contemporary Art exhibition
October, 28th - November, 3rd 2022
Because dreams shape the world
International Contemporary Art exhibition
October, 28th - November, 3rd 2022
Organized by M.A.D.S. ART GALLERY
Curated by M. Matilde Della Pina
Curated by M. Matilde Della Pina
I exhibited two pieces of artwork at GUARDIANS OF DREAMS 2022, which was held in Milan, Italy, hosted by M.A.D.S. ART GALLERY. I am proud to be invited from Japan to participate in this exhibition, and express my heartfelt gratitude for this opportunity.
M.A.D.S. ART GALLERY主催、イタリアのミラノで開催された GUARDIANS OF DREAMS 2022展に作品を出展いたしました。この展示会に日本から参加させていただいたことを誇りに思い、心より感謝申し上げます。
Condolences / 悼む
Jul 2020 / 73 x 58 cm (Height x Width)
Jul 2020 / 73 x 58 cm (Height x Width)
This artwork was created out of the heartfelt condolences of people all over the world. The sorrow of the bereaved families of those who died from infectious diseases is immeasurable. However, I believe that all of them have fulfilled their lives and passed away in heaven. I am sure that those who have passed away are very worried about their bereaved families. It is the hearts of the bereaved that should truly mourn, and it is the suffering of those who must continue to live in this world that must be brought to Buddhahood. Heaven is a land of everlasting abode, and this world is indefinite, meaning that nothing remains the same. God created this world so that people's spirits can learn what is important. All those who have lived out their lives are equally surrounded by God's love and have returned to the fountain of the divine soul. Eternal peace is promised to all people in this world, and God exists eternally and unchangeably as the place to your eventual return.
この作品は、世界中の方々の心を悼む想いから制作されました。感染症で亡くなられた方々のご遺族の哀しみはとても計り知れません。しかし私は、全ての方々は天寿を全うされ、極楽へ召されたのだと信じています。亡くなられた方々は、きっとご遺族の方々のことをとても心配して居られます。本当に悼むべきは遺された方々の心であり、成仏しなければならないのはこの世界で生き続けなければならない方々の苦悩です。極楽は常住の国であり、この世は不定、つまり変わらぬものなど何一つありません。神は人々の魂が大切なことを学び得るためにこの世界を創造されました。天寿を全うされた方々は皆等しく神の愛に包まれ、大いなる魂の泉へ還られました。この世の全ての人々にも永遠の平安が約束されており、神はあなたがやがて帰る場所として、永劫不変に存在して居られます。
Distance / 心
Apr 2020 / 55 x 76 cm (Height x Width)
Apr 2020 / 55 x 76 cm (Height x Width)
Currently, it is very difficult to predict the end point of this complex world situation, and at times like this, a multidimensional interpretation may be necessary. In other words, it is important to think about everyone, not just oneself.
In computer programming, there is such a thing as a multidimensional array; for example, a description such as xyz[1][3][5] is called a three-dimensional array, and a description such as {x:1, y:3, z:5} is called an associative array. At first, even two-dimensional arrays can be confusing, but the interesting thing about them is that once you understand them, they are easy to use from then on. In a three-dimensional array, associate a cube and map the variables and constants in it in mind. Then, from the four-dimensional array onward, the cube is duplicated, and eventually they are combined to form a cube again, and the rest of the image becomes an endless nested structure, which is easy to understand.
However, as the world enters a major turning point that occurs once in a millennium, I wondered if this "cube" interpretation was really sufficient. In other words, I thought that as long as we are stuck in the framework of the individual as an individual and feel a separation between oneself and others, we will not be able to reach a higher understanding. Modern science advocates that if there is an extra dimension, it is in the microscopic world, but is this really true? In the " Metaphor of the Cave" proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, it is mentioned that this world is a shadow of the world of truth ( Idea).
Anyway, I feel that the present is a test to see if humanity can advance to the next stage. It feels as if we are being tested to see if we can care for others as much as we care for oneself.
Also, is what we call the "heart" really the true heart? Isn't it just a cage called "spirit" that functions to protect the ego?
We are currently in a complicated situation where we are in a stage of "separation," where we wear masks and distance ourselves from others, and at the same time, the enclosed space is being opened up. However, when a space is closed, it is opened widely, and when it is separated, it is sure to be combined eventually.
Just looking at the number of people lost around the world that is announced every day, it is truly heartbreaking. However, I believe that all of this is a pandemic that is happening in order to change the world for the better, and that the day will come when we can look back at the present and realize that all of this was an important process.
Love is always beyond ego.
現在はこの複雑な世界情勢の終着点を予想することが非常に困難で、このような時は多次元的解釈が必要なのかもしれません。つまり自分だけでなく全員のことを考えて行動することが大事だと思うのです。
プログラミングの世界には多次元配列というものがあり、例えば xyz[1][3][5] のような記述は三次元配列、{x:1, y:3, z:5} のような記述は連想配列と呼びます。初めのうちは二次元配列でも頭が混乱しますが、これの面白いところは、一度理解するとそれ以降は使用が容易になる点です。三次元配列では立方体を連想し、その中の変数や定数を頭の中でマッピングします。そして四次元配列より以降はその立方体を複製し、やがてそれらは結合し再び立方体となり、後は延々と入れ子構造と化すイメージになるため、理解は容易になります。
しかし世界が千年に一度の大きな転換期に入り、本当にこの「立方体」という解釈で良いのだろうかと疑問に思いました。つまり個が個であるという枠組みに囚われ、自分と他者との隔たりを感じている以上、これより上の理解には至らないのではないかと思ったのです。近代科学では、余剰次元があるとすればそれはミクロの世界にあると唱えられていますが、本当にそうでしょうか。古代ギリシアの哲学者プラトンが提唱した「洞窟の比喩」では、この世界は真実（イデア）の世界の影であると言及されています。
とにかく現在は人類が次のステージへ進むことができるか試されているのではないかと感じるのです。他者も自分と同じように思い遣ることができるか試されているように感じられるのです。
また、私達が「心」と呼んでいるものは、本当に真の心なのでしょうか。自我を守るために機能する「精神」という檻に過ぎないのではないでしょうか。
現在はマスクを着けて人との距離を置く「分離」の段階であり、同時に密閉空間も開放されつつある複雑な状況です。しかし閉塞すれば広く放たれ、分離すればやがて必ず結合するものです。
毎日発表される世界中の亡くなられた方々の数を見るだけで本当に胸が痛みます。しかし全てはより良き世界へ変化を遂げるために起きている現象であり、後から現在を振り返った時に、それらも大切なプロセスであったと思える日が来ると信じて止みません。
愛は常に我を超えた処にあります。
Introduction written by M. Matilde Della Pina:
Masaki Hirokawa is a renowned Japanese artist whose wide range of activities includes digital artworks, graphic design, smartphone app development, interactive movie production and website development. At “Guardians of Dreams” exhibition hosted by M.A.D.S. ART GALLERY, Masaki returns to present two of his beautiful and deep artworks.
"Condolences" depicts a woman in the foreground with her eyes closed, situated against a black background that enhances her features and beauty. A red headdress made of beads and precious embroidery encircles her forehead, sealing her elegance. As with all Masaki's works, this beautiful portrait hides a deep meaning: it was in fact created out of the heartfelt condolences of people all over the world: the sorrow of the bereaved families of those who died from infectious diseases is immeasurable. However, Masaki believe that all of them have fulfilled their lives and passed away in heaven, even if are very worried about their bereaved families. It is the hearts of the bereaved that should truly mourn, and it is the suffering of those who must continue to live in this world that must be brought to Buddhahood. Heaven is a land of everlasting abode, and this world is indefinite, meaning that nothing remains the same. God created this world so that people's spirits can learn what is important. All those who have lived out their lives are equally surrounded by God's love and have returned to the fountain of the divine soul. Eternal peace is promised to all people in this world, and God exists eternally and unchangeably as the place to your eventual return.
The second work exhibited by Masaki is "Distance": against a light pink background stand out two figures of a woman (the same one but doubled specularly thanks to digital techniques) entirely covered in gold. A silent dialogue is created between them, they seek each other out, and seem to communicate something of which we viewers do not know the meaning. This work, too, is meant to be a reflection on our human condition in relation to the reality around us and the world in which we live. for Masaki in fact as long as we remain stuck in the structure of the individual as a single person and feel a separation between ourselves and others, we will not be able to reach a higher understanding. Modern science claims that if there is an extra dimension, it is in the microscopic world, but is this really the case? In the "Metaphor of the Cave" proposed by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, it is said that this world is a shadow of the world of truth (Idea). In any case, Masaki believes that the present is a test to see whether humanity is able to move to the next stage and whether we can care for others as much as we care for ourselves. Moreover, is what we call "heart" really the real heart? Is it not just a cage called "spirit" that functions to protect the ego? We are currently in a complicated situation: we are in a phase of "separation," where we wear masks and distance ourselves from others, and at the same time the closed space is opened. However, when a space is closed, it opens widely, and when it is separated, it is sure to eventually come together. The number of missing people in the world that is announced every day is really heartbreaking. In spite of this, Masaki argues that all of this is a pandemic that is happening to change the world for the better, and that the day will come when we can look at the present and realize that this has all been an important process. Love is always beyond ego.
Introduction written by M. Matilde Della Pina (Japanese translation):
グラフィックデザイン、スマートフォンアプリ開発、インタラクティブムービー制作、ウェブサイト制作など、幅広い活動を展開するアーティスト、廣川政樹。M.A.D.S. ART GALLERY主催の GUARDIANS OF DREAMS 2022展では、彼の美しく奥深い作品二点を展示いたします。
「Condolences / 悼む」という作品では、黒を背景に目を閉じた女性が前景に描かれており、彼女の特徴と美しさをより際立たせています。ビーズと刺繍で作られた赤いヘッドドレスが彼女の額を囲み、その優美さを封じ込めます。この美しい肖像画には、深い意味が込められています。この作品は、世界中の人々の心からの哀悼の意より生まれたもので、感染症で亡くなられた方々のご遺族の悲しみは計り知れません。しかし作者は、全ての人々が天寿を全うし、この世を去って行くと信じています。真に弔うべきはご遺族の方々の心であり、この世に生き続けなければならない者の苦しみこそ、成仏させなければなりません。天は常楽の地であり、この世は不定、変わらぬものなど何一つ無いのです。神様は人々の魂が大切なことを学ぶために、この世界をお創りになりました。天寿を全うされた方は皆等しく神の愛に包まれ、魂の泉へと還って行くのです。全ての人々に永遠の平安が約束されており、神はあなたが最後に還るべき場所として、永遠に変わらず存在して居られます。
「Distance / 心」という作品では、淡い背景に全体が金色で覆われた二体の女性像（同一人物だがデジタル技術により鏡面的に複製されている）が浮かび上がっています。二人の間には無言の対話が生まれ、互いを求め合い、私たち鑑賞者が知り得ない何かを伝え合っているかのようです。この作品にもまた、私たちを取り巻く現実や世界に対する人間の在り方についての考察が含まれています。近代科学に於いて、余剰次元はミクロの世界にあるとの一説がありますが、本当にそうでしょうか。古代ギリシャの哲学者プラトンが提唱した『洞窟の比喩』では、この世界は真理の世界（イデア）の影であると提唱されています。真実はどうあれ、人類が次のステージへ進むことができるか、自分と同じほど他者を大切にできるか、今まさに試されていると作者は考えています。そして、私たちが『心』と呼んでいるものは、本当に真の心なのでしょうか。それはエゴを守るために機能している『精神』という名の檻に過ぎないのではないでしょうか。私たちは今、仮面（マスク）を纏い他者と距離を置く『分離』の段階にあり、同時に閉ざされた空間が開かれつつある複雑な状況下に置かれています。しかし密閉された空間はやがて開放され、分離した空間はやがて必ず結合されます。毎日発表される世界の死者数には本当に胸が痛みます。それでも作者は、全ては世界をより良く変えるために起きている現象（パンデミック）であり、やがて『今』を振り返った時に、それらも大切なプロセスであったと実感できる日が来ると信じています。愛は常にエゴを超えるのですから。
Concept by Art Curator Federica Schneck:
The human being, a Manichean by nature, has always been confronted with the reality of things, with the tangible and rational world, distinguishing between what can be associated with Good and what instead represents Evil. Everything that has been absorbed is stored, made our own, and shapes our thinking, our relationship to the concrete world.
But existence is not just this, as a more intimate and profound reality coexists in us, the dream reality. According to Greek mythology, are the three Onyri, namely Morpheus, Phobetor and Fantaso, three gods of the night, that send dreams to mortals.
Morpheus, the most important, is the shaper of dreams, the one who establishes direct contact in sleep. He is a shaper and, at the same time, a guardian of our dreams, like every human being, he is, equally, a shaper and guardian of their own thoughts and dream visions, prudently kept inside two imaginary boxes. Two boxes inside which are hidden reflections, secrets and visions on the past and present, reflections on the concept of Good and Evil for the purpose of research and re-elaboration of the future.
What can be shown, made available to the world? And what, on the other hand, shouldn't be revealed? Within the current context, marked by the dilemma that contrasts the reasons of the individual with those of society, the question arises as to what is the real and appropriate perception of Good and Evil.
The debate around this issue was already present in the Greek tradition, where the ethical-religious problem and the socio-political one revolved around the centrality of the logos, that is the relationship with the being of things, the reason that explains the nature of the various realities, that form the world, and of the latter's irreconcilability with pathos.
The modern age, however, has changed things, blurring the clear distinction that humanity had conceived of Good and Evil until now, altering the conception of traditional dualism, of what is right and what is wrong, in the soul of people.
The complex and difficult reality of today, based on an axiological skepticism, is characterized by a constant presence of feelings related to insecurity and uncertainty, together with a sense of existential failure that has led people to seek real approval social based on appearance and mass consumerism, overshadowing that dreamlike, otherworldly reality, which has always been the guardian of our thoughts, dreams, values. Ours, according to sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, is a "liquid" society, a society that has flattened human values and consciousness and the proliferation of social media, although having enormous advantages, has altered the way we interact with culture and others, consequently altering one's perception of what surrounds us and the importance that each individual places in things, events and experiences.
Perfection and, above all, mass homologation have become the main points of reference, the foundations of the new distinction between Good and Evil, overshadowing the fundamental aspects of the life of every human being. All aspects that have been put aside by many, but not forgotten by everyone.
M.A.D.S. invites artists to overcome modern sociological barriers, proposing a personal reflection on the content of their imaginary boxes, made of dreams, concepts, thoughts and ideals. Of positive and negative experiences that have contributed to the generation of a precise identity that needs to be shared through artistic creation.
According to their culture, religion and vision, each artist is invited to recreate their own universe, to choose what to show to the world and what, instead, to seal. To be creators and, above all, donors of their own experience, of their own interiority.
Because dreams shape the world.
