Hyotan Paintings

Hyotan Paintings
 
The Hyotan/Gourd/Calabash is a symbol for prosperity, abundance, victory and fertility. Traditionally used for carrying medicine, sake, water, seeds, and imagined as the feminine form in these pieces - women, mothers and grandmothers are archives (inspired by a passage in "Crying in H-Mart" by Michelle Zauner - "She was my champion, she was my archive. She has taken the utmost care to preserve the evidence of my existence and growth , capturing me in images, saving all of my documents and possessions. She had all knowledge of my being memorized. The time I was born, my unborn cravings, the first book I read. The formation of every characteristic. Every ailment, every little victory. She observed me with unparalleled interest, inexhaustible devotion.") and vessels for gathering/storing/sharing (inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin's essay "The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction"). These pieces are a homage to the history that she keeps, a cheeky representation of the curvaceous feminine form, and a reminder of being containers of our own power. Three Hyotans is typically a symbol of luck in Japanese culture, a set of six is a well rounded individual. This series will be ongoing as ideas develop!
 
Acrylic on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas, Original Paintings, Various sizes
 
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