At first glance, Eri Itoi's album of 'Particulars', her bizarre, delicately rendered drawn creatures inspired by family fables and Japanese cultural myth -- currently spread out at David Risley on Vyner Street -- seems to stand too coyly. We are so used to artistic bombast it's almost a shock that somebody's debut solo show, just a few months after graduation from the Edinburgh College of Art, would consist of tiny sheets where the graphite lines seem evanescent, lined up plainly and systematically, almost asking, with a strange kind of confidence, viewers to spend much more than just a passing glance with each in order to begin to unravel the many parts to the whole.
But you won't mind looking at these ladies and the proverbial albatrosses hanging around their necks -- or turtles, penguins, even moody noodles. You'll need patience and imagination to interpret their meaning -- are they symbols of neuroses-like conditions? are they abstractions born of free association, concrete poems depicting the endless fusion in our material world? Your guess is as good as ours. As the gallerist we chatted to confirmed, Itoi's young women have a penchant for wearing their feelings and emotions in much the same way as saints in icon paintings display their attributes (Saint Sebastian's arrow, St John the Evangelist's eagle). Similarly to depictions of the saints these portraits are not about creating a likeness -- they are about portraying a mood, a sense of the character.
Itoi has said, 'My drawings are like the outside of me; they are barely visible, quiet, diminutive, trying to hide, de-saturated, intense, exact, precise, miniscule. Through my drawings I am trying to accept myself. The people in my drawings, ('Particulars') are complex people. They are trying to live their life so hard. They hate how they are and how they look, and are always too aware of what people think about them. They are always deep in thought, thinking about how other people feel and act (but are often mistaken because they use their imagination too much). They have an inferiority complex, always feel gloomy and fear being part of society. They enjoy dressing up, are very particular about dress, especially headpieces."
Catch this rare premiere of Itoi's work before it ends 24 September, and make sure to look out for more work from this talented young Japanese artist. We can only hope for a 'Particulars' book by Christmas..
ERI ITOI, 'PARTICULARS
To 24 September 2006
David Risley
45 Vyner Street
London E2 9DQ
T: +44 (0)208 980 2202
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