Oil on canvas

130 x 194 cm. 51 1/8 x 76 3/8 in.

Literature：
Kaikai Kiki Co.， Ltd.， Tokyo， Japan， May All Things Dissolve in the Ocean of Bliss， 2014， P.68.

Provenance：
Galerie Perrotin， Tokyo， Japan；
Private Collection， Asia.

Aya Takano once quoted from the Chinese poem Spring View which is familiar among the primary students in Japan. It is a poem written by the great Chinese poet Du Fu to express his grief over his country ruined by war and to lament on the vicissitudes of history. On 31st March 2011， an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 struck East Japan and triggered the tsunami. ‘After the 3.11 Earthquake， mountains and rivers are still there but no longer the same.’ Takano said in an interview. Being haunted by the catastrophe， plus her busy schedule， Takano’s creation came to a halt. She then gave up her bad habits completely for a healthier life style and developed new interests. Later， she made a trip around Japan and began to realise that she should do something for Japan with her art. By then， her last solo exhibition was held eight years ago.
Between 2012 and 2014， Takano created a considerable amount of works. In the trend of ‘post-earthquake art’， many Japanese artists expressed in their works a tragic emotion and a deep sense of crisis. However， the post-earthquake art of Takano hasn’t showed heavy pessimism. She has learnt the concepts of Animism and instant eternity from the Eastern philosophy， especially from Japan and India， and she fuses the learning into her art creations.
Takano made her debut as an artist in the late 90s. She became the assistant of the contemporary artist Takashi Murakami when studying in Tama Art University in Tokyo. Probably being influenced by his ‘superflat’ theory， Takano began to think about the spatial relationship and is considered a ‘superflat’ supporter. She gave up using stereoscopics from Western art and the principle of wabi-sabi from Japanese art. As shown in her work Castle at Four， the ancient map in it precisely presents the way how Japanese people comprehend the matter of space in relation to the space of Japan without considering the geographical reality.
Takano loves science fictions and manga and has got in touch with the erotic culture at an early age. Murakami suggested her to present these elements in her works， especially the female sensual pleasure in the erotic culture. Afterwards， she created the image of slim and naked cartoon-like girls with long and narrow eyes and no nose， while in her works cats， dogs， owls and aliens also frequently appear. Her art soon won the love of the Japanese collectors. She began to be active on the international stage and has become the most popular artist of Kaikai Kiki Gallery， making her one of the most celebrated cutting-edge artists.
The 3.11 Earthquake has brought to Takano a great change to her life style and art creation. She has given up using propylene and turned to oil paint which is ‘more natural’， but the genuine change is her philosophy. In this period， her works were much less erotic and reflected certain religious tensions found in the paintings of Edvard Munch， such as Anthem， May All Things Dissolve in the Ocean of Bliss etc.， in which Takano applied the format， content and sense of space learnt from the religious triptychs in Europe from the 16th and 17th centuries. She began to believe that everything is spiritual and the foundation of human life is based on the coexistence of all animals， plants and microbes —— as believed in Buddhism. She believes that even radio waves and signals are part of the spiritual world. In the lot Not For Human Eyes， Takano has created a parallel space invisible to human eyes under the ethereal context where all creatures come together to convey the vitality and prosperity of the universe.
Though Takano uses the same set of characters in her works， she has changed the meaning of these images from self-expression to world care. Before the earthquake， just like many other Japanese youngsters， Takano ‘only knew and believed in urban city and thought it was the place where wisdom and knowledge could be found.’ Thus， urban city was once an element of her art as seen in the series of ‘convenience store’. However， when she saw how people happily rebuilt their lives from the ruins after the earthquake， she found the true wisdom and knowledge from the land and nature， ‘It is a great presence of wisdom from those who has cultivated on their land generations after generations， those who insist on their rituals and ceremonies and all animals and plants. Therefore， here is today.’ She soon realised that modernisation has brought great benefits but greater catastrophes； nevertheless， the disasters has cast away the apathy of the urban forest of concrete. Heaven and hell coexist in the time we are. Everything has its own course of history and the history is part of the present. After all， the world is the coexistence of the visible and invisible， heaven and hell， past and present， as well as， man and nature.
In this painting， many pre-set images are found， such as ‘the ancient god of food， animals， the young who have been forced to migrate to this country’. This painting is the conclusion of her thoughts after the 3.11 Earthquake. On the land of tall buildings flooded by the blue sea and scattered with flower petals， there is a girl leaning to one side with an owl resting on her shoulder and a black dog standing behind which is probably a pet of Takano. The girl， animals， god and other invisible matters， they all join together to turn the ravaged land into paradise.

Price estimate:
HKD： 1,000,000 - 1,500,000
USD： 128,700 - 193,100

Auction Result:
HKD: --