SICF
SICF (Spiral Independent Creators Festival) is an open-call art event launched in 2000 by Spiral, the multi-purpose cultural complex in Omotesando, with the aim of discovering and supporting young creators.
For this 21st edition, SICF21 brought together 85 groups of creators selected through open call from a wide range of genres, presenting sculpture and installation, painting, media art, fashion, performance, and works that transcend these existing categories.
Baku Kiyokawa
At SICF21, we turned our attention to Baku Kiyokawa, who exhibited in Booth 11 of the B schedule.
Baku Kiyokawa’s works are made using a technique she calls “Bakugan.”
“Bakugan” is a method in which grooves are carved from the reverse side of an acrylic panel and then colored with acrylic paint.
She creates her works with an emphasis on momentum and a sense of speed.
A graduate of Joshibi University of Art and Design, Baku Kiyokawa broadly studied painting, sculpture, and printmaking, and developed a fabrication technique that fuses these disciplines together.
She has also said that the bonsai, which serves as her central motif, was chosen as a symbol that lends itself to sculptural treatment.
At first glance the imagery of the work looks digitally processed, but viewing the back of the work reveals part of the fabrication technique.
Recently, she has also been focusing on abstract works.
Two pieces sized to evoke hanging scrolls were on display.
Right: Baku Kiyokawa, Hiu (Rain Flight), 2020, 400×1450×43mm, acrylic panel, acrylic paint, wooden panel on the back
In 2020, she has several other exhibition opportunities lined up in December.
We will be watching her future activities with great interest.
