Last year in March there was a exhibition at YOD Gallery which really put its viewers on edge; brightly painted pictures of young innocent girls with flowers in place of their eyes, pouring out into the background and foregrounds. It was cuteness mixed with a good dose of creepiness. We caught up with the artist, Natsuki Machida, to find out more about these works, and to hear about her upcoming exhibition.

Machida says the reaction to her works depends a lot on who's looking. Cheerful people generally say that it's all 'cute', but sensitive people say that her works are quite dark. Where did the idea for these flowers come from? When she was much younger she used to often doodle pictures of cute girls with her sister, trying to make their eyes sparkle as much as possible. They began to take the idea of this 'sparkle' to a new level, making the doodles so outrageous they really began to look ugly. "People attach a lot of meaning into this idea, but for me personally, painting their eyes like this is just fun. I'm always wondering how far I can take it."

In a previous job, Machida used to work for a kimono company dyeing cloth from morning to evening. All the colors were decided based on traditions; green here, purple there. Everything was very constrained. Even though she wanted to paint pinks, there was nothing she could do. "As soon as I got home, pink! Pink! Pink!" she says, gesticulating wildly. And her bright artworks continue to reflect this feeling. "If I can't paint pink, I feel like I can't settle down." But don't think that she's just impulsive, Machida also applies theory she learnt from the Osaka University of Arts to her works. In every flower pattern and color, there's meaning. She feels that if she borrows from this knowledge base, it's easy to explain, and people will remember her artworks. "It's not just cute," says Machida, "there's theory and reasoning behind it all".
For her upcoming exhibition "MURMUR", one of the biggest shifts is from paper to canvas, a medium she hasn't visited since university. At university, she could never paint what she wanted. If she drew girls, she got in trouble with her teachers. "That's not art!" they said, "Don't illustrate". After graduating, she returned to a life without instructors looking over her shoulder, so she started painting girls again, but on paper. Going back to the canvas was tougher than expected; "Sometimes you have to paint over something three times to get the color you want."

So, how did she choose the name "MURMUR"? "Well, I looked it up in the dictionary and thought, I've never seen this word before, and I have no idea how to pronounce it. This is the one." For this exhibition, the women will be a little more camouflaged. Recently she's be listening a lot to her inner selves. "There's the smart you and the stupid you (who sometimes has a big voice)... I want to try to put these down on the canvas." Machida said she wants to use this as a form of energy to paint.
We are all looking forward to seeing her next exhibition, and you should make sure you also go and get yourself a good dose of the cute and the creepy.

MURMUR
November 14th (Sat) - December 5 (Sat) 2009
Opening reception: November 14th 17:00~
Venue: YOD Gallery
http://www.yodgallery.com


Natsuki Machida Biography
1980  Born in Osaka, Japan
2005   Graduated from Osaka University of Arts Graduate School

[Exhibitions and activities]
2003  "Art Stage 74", Osaka University of Arts
2004   "Art Jam 2004", The Museum of Kyoto
2004   "Link Exhibition", Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
2004   "Imaginary Museum", Kyoto OPA
2005   "Art Jam 2005", The Museum of Kyoto
2006   Group exhibition, Imura Art Gallery, Kyoto
2007   "Natsuki Machida Solo Exhibition", Gallery Ami, Osaka
2008   "Natsuki Machida Solo Exhibition", YOD Gallery Osaka
             ART OSAKA 2008 (YOD Gallery)
2009   "Emotional Colors", Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo
             ART OSAKA 2009 (YOD Gallery)