Tomoyo Ihaya
“Heart to Heart” is one of my recent blue series. Blue, to me, is the colour of healing and I have been using mostly blue in my drawings since last year.
The figures in both of the images are close together to support and feel empathy for one another. Calmly, peacefully, lovingly. I believe this is a way we can bear any challenging moments in all aspects of our lives. Although we cannot connect physically in this pandemic time, we can do this heart to heart.
When the pandemic rapidly turned our everyday lives upside down, I witnessed so much suffering and anxiety in my community and amongst the countries where I have travelled many times and have deep connections with many people. The emotional and mental impact I felt in my body was so strong that I could barely move. Although there was no fixed schedule or agenda anymore and I had more available hours to work in my studio, my body felt like it was made of metal.
The experience of the pandemic has been an opportunity to revisit (my or our) thoughts and to examine what is most important in one and others’ lives. Like this drawing, the metaphor of feeling interconnectedness and loving kindness , I reconfirm that the most important value of living is to feel empathy, compassion and to share.
And living more humbly and slowly enables me (us) to maintain important inner values.
Tomoyo Ihaya was born and raised in Tsu City, Mie, Japan and now a permanent resident of Canada since 2000.
After studying studio arts at number of universities in Canada, Tomoyo Ihaya obtained a M.F.A. (Master of Fine Arts) from University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 2002. She has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally since 1998 and is a recipient of numerous awards and grants for artists.
“I have always had a strong urge to interpret and represent the reasons to live and die and to mourn/pray for those who died in struggle. My visual expression is my way of communicating empathy and is a form of prayer. I believe that this personal offering and social activism has made me more aware of the many causes of suffering globally. “
