A "dancing artist" who releases the joy of the soul

SAORI KANDA uses her body as a medium for expression, creating abstract works using acrylic paint on large canvases. She has appeared in ceremonies and art festivals around the world as a "dance artist" who combines dance and painting through music. .

He has made offerings to the world heritage sites of Nakagusuku Castle in Okinawa, Tenkawa Daibenten Shrine in Nara, and Kibitsuhiko Shrine in Okayama, and has collaborated with many national brands, including fashion houses such as Cartier. In his 20th year as an artist, he challenges himself to express himself as a Self-Love Activist in the exhibition "LOVE YOUR SELF."

Creation as a ritual that stimulates the five senses

SAORI KANDA was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and grew up in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. During the Iran-Iraq War, when supplies were scarce, her joy was drawing on the stacks of telex papers her father brought home from work. Later, when she moved to Dubai, she was fascinated by the beauty of Islamic patterns, such as the mosaic patterns and elegant calligraphy found in mosques. She also remembers the mystic beauty of women wrapped in black veils and the smell of incense as she passed them by.

While living abroad, he was also struck by the beauty of the chiyogami and washi paper that he received as souvenirs from people visiting from Japan. He had a strong admiration for Japan, and would immerse himself in ukiyo-e art books, kimono, and tattoo photo books, copying them in a daze.

Islamic patterns are also called "visible music" due to the rhythmic repetition of motifs, and are said to bring peace of mind to the viewer and visually unfold prayers and speculations to God. This can also be seen in Japanese patterns such as chiyogami, and it can be said that this is the source of KANDA's creations, which he sees as "a ritual that connects with something greater like the universe" and which respond with the five senses.

While studying at Musashino Art University, KANDA began designing clothes with motifs of kimono patterns and tattoos, and was given the task of running a pop-up shop at Shibuya PARCO. In 2002, he met singer Asuka Hayashi, and had a musical experience that felt like he was "struck by lightning." This triggered a drive for physical expression through music, and he was awakened as a dance artist.

The unconscious energy of creation

Since then, he says that his encounters with musicians have always opened the door to new perceptions, and he has put his artistic theme of "Liberating the Joy of the Soul" into practice using a wide range of methods, not only dance but also photography, poetry, and more recently video technology such as VR.

The liberation of the soul is considered to be a lineage of thought represented by Nietzsche, who focused on the irrepressible irrationality that lurks within humans and escapes from the rationality that tries to suppress it. Nietzsche considered irrationality to be something like Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, and considered it to be creative, escaping from the order that assigns superiority or inferiority to either good or evil, male or female, clean or dirty. This is the basis for the belief today that true creativity lies in the uncontrollable irrationality and unconscious energy of artists themselves.

KANDA appeals for people to "decide to live true to their souls" and to be prepared to truly love the "life" that has been given to them, not just themselves. Having declared himself a "Self-Love Activist," in 2020 he has been working on a series of works with the themes of "Goddess Liberation" and "Eros Liberation." This exhibition will be the first to fully reveal his worldview.

Sex as the source of sacred life

After 20 years of artistic activity, KANDA has clearly realized the concept of "erotic innocence" and "goddess rising". Sex, the source of life, is not an object of egoistic desire, nor is it something to be ashamed of and hidden. It is sacred, the source of life, and the source of creativity.

Like many women, KANDA grew up with the idea that sexual matters are taboo. "I had a strong blockage and found it extremely difficult to talk about sexual matters, not only with my family but even with my female friends. I knew that there was erotic energy inside me, but I was afraid that it was something to be ashamed of as a woman, and that if I admitted to my erotic side, I would be rejected as an artist." After pondering over why she had fallen into such thinking, she came to the realization that denying her own "sexuality" meant denying her "life," and that now was the time to face her "sexuality" in order to truly love herself.

She respects the sexuality she was born with, which means her life, and tries to overcome the conflicts of life with cherished self-love. This calls into question self-pleasure, which is generally treated as something shameful. She questions it anew as a noble act of loving and healing oneself and celebrating life. The resulting work, "Self Pleasure," depicts a deep affirmation of oneself.

When KANDA is performing live painting as a dance artist in a trance-like state where she has left her ego, she experiences the birth of a "dragon" on the canvas as a trace of intense energy. She acknowledges that in her creative work as a dance artist for over a decade, she has been driven by the aggressive and active "masculinity" that exists within her. However, in the past few years, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, her activities as a dance artist have come to a halt, and after spending time facing deeply within herself, she has realized that she has reached a stage where she can listen to the voice of her inner soul as a woman and cherish and nurture her own "femininity."

True healing lurks in the darkness of humanity

"Apart from the aggressive, masculine self that I am as an artist, there certainly exists a soft, erotic, goddess-like self. There is also a shamanic self that transcends gender, an innocent self like a child, and many other personalities within me. At one time I questioned the existence of all these different "selves" and was conflicted, but now I have made up my mind to accept and love all of those personalities. I cherish everything. There is no other person inside me that I don't want to see. I am ready to love myself. I have found the courage."

Kanda senses that her inner goddess has awakened and that she has entered a phase where the two poles of masculinity and femininity are loving each other. She intuitively knows that once this balance is achieved, her life energy will be liberated and increased even further.

"Only when you truly acknowledge, believe in and love sexual energy can the radiance of life overflow. When you, and no one else, truly love yourself, and when you truly love yourself and are able to cherish the innate energy that fills your body and soul, I believe that this will develop into deep self-confidence, and eventually a sense of security will well up from within, bringing healing energy to those around you. Facing your own sexual energy deeply is very important in order to love yourself and others and live your life."

From this point on, the style of the work released in spring 2022 changed, and I started to use soft pink and pastel colors that I had not used before. I feel that my position as an artist may change by focusing on femininity, and that this is a turning point for my rebirth as an artist.

KANDA has been awakened by truly accepting her sexual energy. She believes that this is not just her own story, but a story that needs to be shared with many people, and she incorporates the message "Believe in yourself. Have the courage to love" into her work.