Once upon a time there was a Japanese young man that fell in love with a beautiful Japanese woman. He thought that if he could offer her special gifts he would manage to capture her heart. At first he gave her two white rabbits . She pleasantly accepted them but gracefully rejected him. Then the man offered her a unique pair of earrings. The woman fell in love with the earrings but not with him. A pair of silky slippers was the last present to her , but her feelings towards him didn’t change. The young man felt injured. Realizing that her feelings would never be reciprocal , he decided to offer her his heart per se. And he actually did it. It is said that in the place where the young man ended the life o his heart , a flower was born, the so called ”bleeding heart” flower.
I chose to illustrate this special Japanese Legend maybe because as soon as i red the story , saw my protagonists there: First of all my beloved Rabbits from today’s pop culture to add their bizarre tint to the illustration .Then the earring role goes to the exquisite jewelry creators, Katerina Psoma and Lito respectively for the Treasure Box edition and Moon edition, to add a magical fairytale luxury to the whole atmosphere and of course the heart that is the main protagonist. This special kind of carrier , the Heart, that gives oxygen both literally and metaphorically to our body and soul in order to evolve and bloom. Our heart is working without being noticed. It is the ”silent” ally , that besides everything beats and beats giving the rhythm to the entire system of our existence. Our heart has a face that we always should look at , in order to feel our self and consequently feel the other.
I had the honor and the joy to visualize the photo shoot of this particular silk artwork by an artist i admire so much and i got to know via instagram universe. When i came across with the work of Su Wong, i immediately felt the greatness and the power of her brushes!The style of her paintings reminded me a contemporary Georgia O’ Keeffe, who maintains her own identity, carving a path of her own, creating a powerful caress of calm , beauty that bridges the real with imagenary, to the spectator eye. Su Wong, comes from Pekino. She is a Master of Arts graduate from the Central Saint Martins of London where she also used to work and take part to exhibitions. She chose to come to Greece via the Athena Standards Residency , a programme that hosts Artists from all over the world. Visiting Greece for vacation back to 2017 , she loved Greece and the way of life, so she decided to move to Athens. In Athens felt the priviledge of feeling free to create , to ”swim” in her” artistic waters”in contrast to the limitations experienced by an artist in China. Su Wong apart from being a super talented artist , she is also a source of inspiration as a woman. A source full of natural beauty and authentic grace. Her current art exhibition took place at Depo Darm Contemporary Art Space in Athens, Gr.
You can see and find out more of her work at :https://suwong.co.uk/ and read her recent interview at https://www.athensvoice.gr/culture/arts/618692_i-kineza-zografos-poy-apofasise-na-meinei-monima-stin-athina