Wandering Vessel

The word "cosmetics" (makeup) is derived from the word "cosmo" (universe). In the past, people would smear mud on their skin and make stones into jewelry, seeking to communicate with the unknown universe (order). However, the Industrial Revolution in modern history gave humans the ability to manipulate nature and create order. Kuniyoshi was interested in Western paintings and was a collector who would show his collection to others. From his research, he likely learned about the idea that Westerners (people) create the universe (order). Referring to Arcimboldo, he sarcastically described the act of dressing a naked "person" on a face as "cosmetics." From the perspective of the Japanese, who are known for their animistic views, this Western thinking would have seemed both advanced and violent.

The original Godzilla appeared in cinemas as the sole spokesperson for the atomic bomb-hit nation, but as times changed, he became a hero, taking up environmental issues, and his own son appeared, transforming him into a father. Godzilla was placed in a certain time period and wandered around as a monster without context or ego. Godzilla's lack of ego was given value as a vessel to speak for something (Japanese people), but his true nature was far removed from the essence of the original Godzilla.

This phenomenon is similar to modern information communication. Online interactions, including email and social media, are constantly managed through a communication environment set up away from the creator. Furthermore, within this environment, various fixed phrases are copied and pasted, eliminating any sense of special self, allowing for smooth communication. In other words, our communication is facilitated by the unconscious, enabling it to function smoothly. In the past, when nature existed in order, the act of smearing something in an attempt to establish dialogue was itself a desire for communication. However, this has now become a mere formality, reduced to the exchange of fixed phrases. The reuse of such watered-down fixed phrases has become commonplace in all cultures as patterns and etiquette, resulting in the creation of countless works. For example, RPGs that await future destruction always return to the past to restart history, and the classic multiple endings revive characters multiple times, repeating the cycle. Characters who endlessly loop through elementary and junior high school life are always set in movies during summer vacation, and Evangelion never ends. Images of idols are edited on social media and are not allowed to age, rewinding time in the reincarnation of idols with minor changes.

Like Godzilla, who lacked context and self, the loss of self among the Japanese people seems to have progressed further with the end of rapid economic growth. At the same time, it seems as if old memories have begun to flow repeatedly in our subconscious, and we continue to consume our daily lives, lingering and wandering about at the same time, as if to relive those times once again. I believe this feeling is widely recognized as a characteristic and culture of Japan.

Japanese people have lost their sense of self and have no qualms about living in a watered-down fiction that is recorded and manipulated unconsciously. Is this really a problem unique to Japan? I see it as a modern-day Shangri-La. My expression is to re-cosmize the universe (order) on the vessel (Godzilla, the Japanese) by quoting Kuniyoshi's gaze and method of gazing at what is inherent in it in a modern context. By bringing to the surface what is inherent in society, my aim is to reconsider and re-present the desire for communication in modern times. And just as the original Kamen Rider accidentally regained his sense of self and began fighting, what lies beyond Shangri-La = the infinite loop? I would like to use the suspended sensibility of art to consider what lies beyond in a humorous way.