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Artist’s note

Again, I asked myself 'what am I?’. To find the answer, I went to a small town called Ålvik in Norway in February. I stayed in there for three months, but I couldn’t find a perfect answer to this big question. Instead, I kept worrying about my family and friends who I love feeling guilty and regret. Was there something called 'me' in the first place? I did not find the answer, but I could at least see why I could not find the answer.

The first reason is that there was no one who knew me well. The intangible existence of 'I' is always defined by others. Since there are no such people, it may not have been possible to find me in the first place. Instead, in new people, I could express myself as I felt and discover my new self that I did not even know.

The second reason is the nature of Norway, which changes every day. The winter landscape in Norway in winter time is varied and ever-changing. After the snow falls, after it rains, after the storm blows, and after the sun goes up finally, it changes all the time. In front of such a enormous nature, I can not think of anything, I can just  admire the beauty of nature. The mountains stand as they are, the water flows as it is, and the trees is shaking as wind blows. They just embrace change and beauty of their own. Standing in front of such a nature, it’s pointless to say how proud I am or how bad person I am. The nature says nothing, but I could read that the most important thing is just being faithful to daily life, and there is no need to even ask about ‘what I am’

The third reason is that there is no one fixed 'me' in the first place. I will not be able to regain previous ‘me’ just because I think it was good. ‘I’ am always changing depending on where I stand, depending on who I am with. Sometimes there is ‘I’, and sometimes there is no ‘I’. The meaning of 'anattā' in Buddhism will also be the same.

Although I did not bring the beautiful scenery of Norway in my drawings, I tried to share my thoughs and questions about ‘what I am’. I hope you will find your own answer to ‘what I am' through the drawings.