INSPIRATION OF JAPAN

2020 What a year the Coronavirus has hit across the whole planet!  I still however managed to travel to Japan as I had two exhibitions and was travelling under the umbrella of Nipon International Performance Art Festival (NIPAF20) with artists from all over the world and all over Japan.  I had great faith and confidence as I have travelled to Japan constantly over the past seven years.  I followed a strict routine of washing my hands and having early nights and eating well during my four week stay.  The touring was exhausting but yet rewarding, audience were very low attendance but the spirit and enthusiasm of the performances artists carried us all along a wave of creativity, each city, town, village we performed in regardless how many people attended, we gave ourselves fully. 

Now I have returned and most countries throughout the world have gone into lock down, airports have reduced flights, schools, universities, galleries, museums and any public place such places to eat, pubs, cafes, theatres have all closed.  It is a strange climate to be an artist, it is now then hopefully the arts wills surface and not see this as a hindrance but find a creative way to move forward and reach out, looking at other ways for people to access art/performance.  I love Japan, it is my spiritual home and I will keep returning as long as I can.

In 2009 I spent two and half months in Japan working and collaborating with the artist Yoshiko Shimada in her studio in the mountains.  Every day I took the forty minute walk through the local rice fields and witnessed the farmers planting, nurturing, and harvesting their crop.  In March/April 20214 I returned to Japan for three weeksand took the two hour train trip from Tokyo to visit Wada, in Chiba where I rejoined Yoshiko and also other friends and was driven up into the mountains where I was able to photograph the rice fields.    

On my return to London on the 8th April 2014 I began a series of carved paintings of abstract rice fields in Chiba, which were exhibited in London on October 31st.   Also in May 2014 I put on a free talk in South West London on Art and Devastation, how artists have responded to the Japanese Tsunami. Also again on March 17th 2015 in London at The Lecture Club.(http://www.thelectureclub.com/ ) Spike returned to Japan 2015 and also 2016.
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2009年に私は山の中で彼女のスタジオでアーティスト佳子島田での作業と協力し、日本の2ヶ月半を過ごした。毎日私は地元の田んぼを通して40分の場所を取り、農民の植栽を目撃し、育成し、その作物を収穫する。 3月/ 4 20214で、私は、私は佳子、また他の友人に復帰し、私は田んぼを撮影することができました山にまで駆動した千葉県で、和田を訪問する東京から2時間の列車の旅を取った3 weeksandのために日本に戻った。 2014年4月8日にロンドンへの私のリターンに私は10月31日にロンドンで展示された千葉の抽象水田、の刻まれた絵のシリーズを開始しました。また、2014年5月、私は芸術と荒廃上のサウス·ウエストロンドンのフリートークに置く、アーティストが日本の津波に対応してきたかを、話がレクチャークラブでロンドンで3月17日に再び起こります（HTTP：// WWW。 thelectureclub.com/）2015年5月まで、月に帰り計画がある。