36. Shingu Sayaka  新宮さやか

Shingu Sayaka was born in Osaka in 1979 and studied at Osaka University of Arts. She makes both hunctional work such as jugs and tableware and sculptural work without function. However, she is best known for her fragile ceramic floral pieces made from a monochromatic mixture of clay with sludge and glaze. Instead of focusing on their characteristic beauty and vibrancy, using a monotone color palette, her ceramics embody the dark, somber and fleeting nature of flowers as a metaphor for impermanence, ephemerality and fleeting beauty, in fact for human life as a whole. As such, her work is embedded in the Japanese traditional philosophy of mono no aware (物の哀れ- the pity of things) or Mujyo (無常- mutability), terms used to describe the awareness of impermanence or transience of things and a gentle sadness at their passing. It is a theme deeply rooted in Japanese arts and what is derived to highlight the similarities between the life stages (growth, flowering, decay) of flowers and people and to foster awareness of the impermanence of life and an appreciation of fleeting beauty.

 Shingu Sayaka's work is highly detailed, with sometimes even hundreds of handmade sticks (androecium) sprouting from the flower calyxes, symbolizing the accumulation of time. Shingu Sayaka is now highly appreciated and has participated in numerous exhibitions and is represented by major galleries. It is to be expected that the interest in her wonderful work will only increase.

Eclipse ceramic 2019 - Gallery Utsuwakan