"Ningenzo On Stormy Waters"

Medium: Acrylics and Mixed Media on Deep Edge Canvas.
Size: 100cm x 100cm
Year: 2022

The painting is a contemporary fusion between colourful poetic abstraction, Japanese Zen caligraphy and performative movement.It depicts a human walking on water and in the circle of its own lifetime. The work is based on artist’s own unique black & white design called Ningenzo, showing a human figure (Ningen in Japanese) walking the circle of life (Enso Circle of enlightenment in Zen caligraphy) and representing all human potential. The design communicates the universal story of the human journey, yet in this case a person is walking on a circular path that starts and finishes within the human figure. Symbolically the work aims to remind the viewers that we are all creators of our life and at the centre of our own lifecycle – if only we could wake up to it before it is too late.

In this painting called “Ningenzo on Stormy Waters”, Ningenzo is floating on a wild sea, representing moments in life when there is chaos or moments when we can’t see clearly. The work reminds us that there is always a light underneath the surface of our blurry thoughts or perceived difficulties. In addition, the floating waters related to the Japanese concept of ukiyo, also known as a floating world, expressing the Buddhist idea of the transitory nature of life. The waters are full of textures and different mark-making, colours have been layered over each other like clouds, creating a contrast with black and white Ningenzo. The Ningenzo symbol was brushed as semi-private movement performance in traditional Japanese way of painting in one continuous movement and no correction afterwards.

This painting represents artist’s practice of a contemporary take on the traditional Zen caligraphy and its teachings. It promotes a message of a conscious and engaged human experience connected to its inner and outer world, and therefore in a flow of life despite the stormy waters. The work was created intuitively and charged with Enso energy to provide intuitive insights for the viewer when being in front of the painting and afterwards. If the insights are act upon, they become catalyst for change on the individual and collective level. 

The canvas is stretched on a wooden frame and the artwork is ready to hang. Framing is not required. A thin layer of gloss varnish protects the artwork against UV light and dust.