Chinatsu Shimizu | Voices, Voices, Voices Connected to Motoyoshikuni's Solo Exhibition "Deep River"
This article reports on artist Motoyoshikuni's practice of connecting with others' voices through painting, transcription, and publishing.Summary
This article reviews the practice of artist Motoyoshikuni, who is of Zimbabwean origin and based in Japan, as a response to rising exclusionary attitudes post-pandemic. Motoyoshikuni establishes pathways for others' voices to exist in the world without being suppressed through painting, transcription, and the publication of his magazine, "MOTO MAGAZINE." His painting practice involves constructing relationships with people he met in Zimbabwe and reinterpreting his own fractured experiences as continuous. Since 2020, "MOTO MAGAZINE" documents the everyday words of Africans living in Japan regarding their faith, culture, and society, functioning as an act of listening and fostering proximity over division. His current solo exhibition, "Deep River," rejects immediacy, offering a quiet space near these voices, culminating his exploration of dignity and connection outside institutionalized narratives.
(Source：artscape)