【Focusing on what arises within relationships】 shoko* Interview
shoko* Solo Exhibition "Flowers Dwelling, Flowers Nesting" is being held at Picaresque Gallery from Wednesday, September 3, 2025, to Sunday, September 14, 2025.
This time, we interviewed shoko* about herself, episodes from her creative process, and the works being exhibited. Please enjoy.
Please introduce yourself.
I am shoko*.
I love fun things, cute things, and delicious things.
I play with colors, lines, and words because I want to touch the invisible things that exist between people.
As for my motifs, I create works using the vessel of a young girl to express fluctuations in emotions such as joy, anxiety, and peace, as well as temperature, through transparent watercolors.
I hope to become someone's single breath.
How was your previous solo exhibition at Picaresque?
It was a very fruitful experience. Not only was I able to have the works I poured my heart into displayed in a wonderful exhibition space, but I also feel that having the main visual acquired by someone overseas is something unique to Picaresque Gallery. Even customers who have supported me for a long time often mention, "I loved that exhibition."
Please tell us about your creative activities from your last exhibition until this one.
In terms of exhibitions, I was in charge of the main visual for a group exhibition, and I was invited to a large-scale exhibition of size 50 works, where I created and presented a larger watercolor piece. For commissioned work, I created a piece based on the imagery of a song and its lyrics, which was contributed and published as a page in a lyric book. (Asako Nasu / SheSawScene) I have also been actively participating in events.
Please tell us about the worldview of your works and the tools, materials, and techniques you currently use.
The theme of this exhibition largely treats "relationships" as the main axis of the screen composition. The relationship between flowers and girls, physical symbiotic relationships, and spiritual coexistent relationships. I am creating with an awareness of "what arises within relationships," which has been a theme of mine for some time. That could be texture, temperature, pain, or circulation. By using transparent watercolors, I was able to utilize the bleeding and depth of color to express the ambiguity of physical gaps and spiritual boundaries while enjoying the process.
Please tell us about the process of creating your works.
For the works in this exhibition, the theme was set, and I created them after clearly deciding on the motifs. So, I started by collecting reference materials for the plants I wanted to draw, and then I worked on them while exploring what kind of composition to use, keeping the flow within the screen in mind. For both "Flower Dwelling" and "Flower Nesting," I focused on color and form so that both the flowers and the figures would be attractive.
Please tell us if there is anything, any work, or any place you are interested in lately.
Perhaps it is because I am growing them myself, but lately, I have been interested in worlds inside boxes of a fixed size, such as aquariums, miniature gardens, and planters, as motifs I want to draw. I find it very interesting how things grow, multiply, and wither within them. Aquariums and art museums, too. Maybe I am interested in things inside boxes. As for places, I am interested in watersides. Whether it is the sea, a river, or a pond. It might be even better if something is swimming there. I want to slowly watch the light flickering.
When do you feel glad that you are creating art?
When I finish a piece and take a breath, I feel very relieved by the lines and colors there. It is similar to the process of confirming my own form, and I feel as if the time spent creating, the things I thought about during that time, and past memories are melting and bleeding into the painting. And when a ripple of some kind spreads in the feelings of the person who saw that painting, I feel as if true words have been communicated. At times like that, I think I am glad I have my art.
Please tell us about the concept of this solo exhibition.
On the way flowers and people exist within me
Could you tell us the concept behind the works you are exhibiting?
Flower Dwelling #6
In 'Flower Dwelling,' where flowers nestle close to a girl as the main subject, this piece features the German iris as its motif. I created it with the image of pressing one's forehead against the large, soft petals, as if whispering a secret or entrusting someone with the emotions one carries. I finished it with great care, focusing on the earnestness in the girl's gaze, the softness of her hair, and the complex colors that bleed into the German iris petals as if heat were transferring from the girl.
Flower Nesting #17
In 'Flower Nesting,' where the flower is the main subject and a girl hides within, the motif for this piece is the mock strawberry. I really love the mock strawberry as a motif, and it appears frequently in my work. Since both the leaves and the fruit are small plants, it was both fun and difficult to think about how to make them appealing when intertwined with a person. I created 'Flower Nesting' with the awareness that the flower might be a girl's memory, or perhaps a moment where her inner world suddenly becomes visible.
Flower Dwelling #10
The flower in this piece is based on the evening primrose. It's a flower I see from time to time while out and about, and I've always wanted to draw it; when I looked it up, I was happy to find that its name is also lovely. When I am drawn to a flower, a desire to touch it arises. I am endlessly curious about how soft it is, its shape, and its thinness. (Since actually touching it too much seems like it would damage the flower, I observe it swaying in the wind and explore the sensation of touching it within my paintings.) I created this piece while being conscious of touching softly, sharing warmth, acting as a seedbed and contributing to growth, and continuing to circulate without losing anything. A symbiosis without pain, and a relationship that is never lost. I depicted how the boundaries become blurred while remaining separate existences of self and other.
Please tell us about your future dreams and goals.
I would be happy if I could be involved in work related to book binding or fashion. I also have a strong interest in and admiration for three-dimensional works like figures, so perhaps what I want to try is creating something with someone else.
Please give a message to our customers and everyone planning to visit!
Thank you for visiting the shoko* solo exhibition 'Flowers Dwell, Flowers Nest.'
In my usual creative process, I prefer to use flowers and people, which are full of soft vitality, as motifs while feeling that they are both very similar and different. For this exhibition, I chose two ways that flowers and people exist within me as the theme. A person who harbors beautiful flowers in their body like a seedbed, and a flower that nests a person as if to hide and protect them. I created these works to express a beautiful sense of life and the relationship between different existences, coexisting by sharing the same water without taking from each other.
I drew all the works as new pieces for this exhibition.
I hope you enjoy the works and the exhibition space.
Please take your time and enjoy. shoko*
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shoko*, thank you for sharing so many valuable stories with us.
Which episode left an impression on your heart?
This is a rare opportunity to see all of shoko*'s exhibited works in person. We look forward to seeing you there.
shoko* Solo Exhibition 'Flowers Dwell, Flowers Nest'
<Exhibition Period> September 3 (Wed) – September 14 (Sun), 2025
<Details>https://picaresquejpn.com/shoko_exhibition_2025/
<shoko* Official SNS>
X (formerly Twitter) https://x.com/shoko_xxx
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/s_h_o_k_o_x_x_x/
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[Basic Business Hours]
*Open: Wed - Sun & Holidays 11:00 - 18:00
*Closed: Every Mon & Tue
*Venue: Picaresque Gallery
*Address: 4-54-7 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
*Phone: 070-5273-9561
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■ List of current & past exhibitions
https://picaresquejpn.com/category/information/
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https://picaresquejpn.com/exhibition-calendar/
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