Goto Mizuho "Picking up avocados, holding books"
shimokitazawaartsOctober 9 - 20, 2024
1-7 pm
Closed on Oct. 15 and 16.
*reception：Oct 12, 5-7pm
*Anyone can participate in the reception.
*We will donate part of the profits from sales for the humanitarian aid in Palestine.
Artist statement
The title of this exhibition, "Picking up Avocados, Holding Books" was inspired by a text published on November 1, 2023, by Sara Roy, an American Jew and Palestinian political economist. That is the last sentence of 《Can you see the avocado?: A letter to President Biden》, "bodies lying on the ground with avocados strewn nearby. 'Can you see the avocado?' he asked. I can. Can you, President Biden?" It was published in the magazine London Review of Books and was written in the form of a letter to President Biden.
Up until now, my main subject has been the history of Nazi Germany's invasion and control of Eastern Europe. This is because I have always wondered what kind of actions and words people take when faced with war, disease, or major violence. Although I am not personally involved in the Holocaust, I have long been concerned about how historical events are deeply connected to the body.
I have always been slow and lacked lung capacity. It wasn't until I was a university student that I discovered I had a lung disease, but I had no symptoms. Two years ago, when I rode my bicycle up a hill, I was in so much pain that I realized for the first time that I was sick. After that time, my lungs progressed to fibrosis, and I thought I would never be able to climb stairs again, but in January of this year I was able to undergo a double lung transplant.
I stand in solidarity with Palestine because I remember the pain of not being able to breathe, and the feeling of a body as heavy as lead and unable to move. I became interested in the Holocaust when I was in junior high school, and I had no idea about my illness. However, no matter how hard I tried, no matter how fast I wanted to be, I ended up being slower than anyone else, and I think one of the main reasons I was drawn to the Holocaust was because of my helpless body.
At first glance, my motifs of everyday fruits, tools, and human gestures seem to have nothing to do with enormous violence, but in reality, sexuality and the body are strongly influenced by discrimination, war, and violence. I would like to take this into account in my work and create works that deal with various major events while confronting the individuality of each one.
Goto Mizuho
Born in Tokyo, 2001.
2023 Graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design, Department of Fine Arts, Department of Western Painting
Currently enrolled in the Master's Program in Western Paintings, Department of Fine Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Joshibi University of Art and Design (while on a leave of absence)
Favorite artists：
Balthus, Felix Vallotton, Wilhelm Sasnal, Luc Tuymans
Exhibition
2024
Group exhibition "Prologue XV 2024" GALLERY ART POINT, Tokyo
Group exhibition "Snapshot" ARTDYNE, Tokyo
Group exhibition "Palestine Warm House” NAMNAM SPACE, Kanagawa
Group exhibition "Group Show” MITSUKOSHI CONTEMPORARY, Tokyo
2023
IDEMITSU Art Award 2023, The National Art Center, Tokyo
Group exhibition "Coil” art space kimura ASK?P, Tokyo
Kanagawa Prefecture Art Exhibition, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, Kanagawa
Group exhibition "swim to.....” Harmony Hall Zama, Kanagawa
Group exhibition "EPIC PAINTERS VOL.12” THE blank GALLERY, Tokyo
duo exhibition "In a distant memory, I captured a strange profile" AYUMI GALLERY, Tokyo
46th Joint Graduation Exhibition of 5 Art Universities in Tokyo, The National Art Center, Tokyo
2022
Kanagawa Prefecture Art Exhibition, Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, Kanagawa
Award
2023年
IDEMITSU Art Award 2023, Special student award
58th Kanagawa Prefecture Art Exhibition, Kamiyama Foundation Award
2022
57th Kanagawa Prefecture Art Exhibition, Selected work
