ARTIST INTERVIEW

--- In New York, you used a room that was associated with Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat as your studio.

A person I had known in Hiroshima for some time ran a restaurant in Noho, New York, and the building was owned by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat apparently lived on the second floor. The first floor was a restaurant, and the second floor, which had been used as an office, was to be used as a shared office, so I rented it out for a year while I worked at the restaurant.

The building where Iwakawa's atelier was located in Noho, New York

I also went to Basquiat's grave, and next to the tombstone covered in hickeys, I placed my atelier, my business card with the same address written on it, and some flowers. Whenever I entered the atelier, I would say "Hello, Basquiat" to myself, and I would secretly be moved by touching and smelling the old brick walls, which had not changed since then. It was a shared office, so there were other people there during the day, but when I was alone creating at night, I was happy imagining Basquiat's ghost coming home.

--- What was it like living and creating in New York?

People from various countries and ethnicities gather here, and you can hear many different languages. Although it is a very lively and special city, I often feel lonely, and perhaps as an expression of this feeling, at the time I drew works with strong contrast, such as black patterns painted on colorful screens. Thinking back on it now, I think the reason why I drew in a way that was like repainting rather than layering colors was because I believed that I could make miracles happen at any time.

Session in New York (Iwakawa is fourth from the left)

--- After that, you will move your base to Berlin, Germany.

Everything about New York was exciting, and I was able to take on many challenges with the help of the people around me. It was a valuable experience for me, and being able to start my career as a painter in New York was a major turning point.

On the other hand, for me, who was just starting out as a painter, the new things that were born in New York felt like they were already completed, and I began to seek something that represented the struggles of real people and the rawness of their hunger to create things.

I've always liked Polish movie posters and the visual works of Jan Svankmajer, and when I traveled to several places in Europe, I felt the same atmosphere in Berlin. I decided that I wanted to place myself there and create works as if I was breathing.

--- From New York to Berlin. What changes have occurred?

There are so many artists in Berlin, both in music and painting, and I had many encounters with them. My musical activities have increased, including participating in sessions by myself with my saxophone and forming a band to perform live shows and record. Of course, I actively went to art spaces where I thought I could exhibit my paintings, and the art markets were held every weekend, so I started participating more and more.

A scene from the solo exhibition "sonnensamen" held in Berlin in 2017

--- Paintings and music. It's a dual wielding thing that's been talked about these days.

When I live in Japan, I'm often asked, "Which do I do better, painting or music?".  But the people I met in Berlin who aspire to express themselves also take photos, create animation, sing songs, etc. Everyone is really free. Everyone is free to express themselves and in any way. I realized that it is fun to express myself by experiencing the feeling of accepting the work in front of me and the person who creates it without comparing myself to others or evaluating it based on my background. Living in Berlin made me realize that music and painting come naturally to me, and that has influenced my subsequent work.

Band members in Berlin (Iwakawa is second from the left)

--- What kind of influence does it have on your artwork?

Like New York, it is a society where people of all ethnicities and diverse backgrounds come together from all over the world. I began to draw people after witnessing the reality of being shunned for trying to live an honest life. Many portraits have facial expressions that are difficult to read, and I think the climate of Berlin had something to do with it, but the use of color was deeper than in my previous works. Germany has a painful and sad history of violence, and the way we live today is based on that history.I hear stories directly from people who lived in a time when Germany was divided into East and West, and for me, as a Hiroshima native, it makes me feel that way. Many things happened.

A picture book I read when I was a child has remained in my heart forever, and although it has very beautiful pictures, it has a somewhat sad story. I think that what I felt as a child, that there is human charm in the coexistence of beauty and ugliness, became connected to me in Germany.

--- What is the difference between painting and playing music?

Both music and painting are a dialogue with oneself and are solitary tasks. The wind instruments that I play only produce single notes, so by producing sounds together with other instruments, the world of beautiful sounds expands. At live performances, the audience is involved, and everyone shares the moment when the music is born. I love playing solo, but I strongly feel the joy of creating music together with others.Music is about expressing your own style after understanding the rules for creating music together. On the other hand, with painting, there is a feeling of getting rid of all rules and freely entering deeply into your own world. That's why I don't want to do things that are obvious. I feel like I'm always looking for something that I think is beautiful.

When I play the saxophone, people often say, "That's a manly saxophone."  Of course, it's great to make it listen to phrases, but above all, I want to focus on my own tone and the charm of each note. In my paintings, I want to depict layers of air like wind blowing through the earth.

Iwakawa playing the saxophone

--- You also experienced giving birth in 2022.

Ever since I gave birth, I've been holding my child in my arms, and I can feel myself being held in my arms. I haven't been able to draw enough for nearly two years because I was busy raising my child, but during that time I feel surrounded by the warmth and softness of human warmth and love. From there, I want to cherish the human, warm, bold things that come out from within the body before it can be expressed in words, whether it's a painting or music. I realized that this is the origin of my expression. The works I'm drawing for this solo exhibition are breathing life into my newly reborn self, and it feels like I'm BLOWING.