• ◯ ☉

TeN eN Hi

(dot circle the sun)

“・” (dot) can be read as “ten (点)”, “◯” (circle) can be read as “en (円)”, “☉” (the sun) can be read as “hi (日)” in Japanese. Therefore, “・ ◯ ☉ ” can be pronounced as “ten en hi”. Each ten, en and hi has their homophones:

“ten” can also mean 天 (sky, universe), “en” can also mean 縁 (edge, relationship, connection, bond, fate) and “hi” can also mean 火 (fire) and 一 (one).

Then, “・◯ ☉, ten en hi” can imply, “point, circle, round, harmonious, sky, universe, edge, relationship, connection, bond, fate, the sun, fire, one”.

・◯ ☉ is a ritualistic art project that explores relationships between individuals and wholeness in nature by implying the ephemeral and cyclic ecological relationships under the sun, while reflectiong on the origin of life. The project includes photographic work and several interrelated works created in other media: installation, poetry, video and improvised site-specific floor/ground installation.

As a whole, it serves as prayer, visual poem, and a tribute/offering to Mother Nature and the cosmos.

・ ◯ ☉ will be my life work and will constitute the material for ongoing exhibitions and performative events.

Performative event Ensō Practice

Ensō Practice is a site-specific floor/ground installation made by an improvised performance.

In Zen, an ensō (円相, "circular form") is a circle that is hand-drawn in one or two uninhibited brushstrokes to express a moment when the mind is free to let the body create. Various interpretations and meanings can be drawn from a circular form. Ensō Practice is my exploration of an alternative format of ensō, not on paper. It will be held as a meditation as well as a pray for harmony in the area, using locally foraged materials instead of ink and drawing.

It will possibly involve the audience and be expected to change over period of time.

Ensō Practice at a playground (5.21.2024 Veterans Field, Edgewater NJ)

The left image is the original work I made with some objects such as cottontree's cotton, fallen leaves and driftwoods, that I found on site. I noticed a girl watching me while I was working. As soon as I left there, she came up to it and spontaneously started adding some more cottons. Hurray! Next day, after heavy rain, I returned to the site and found it a-third filled inside, as the right image.

Ensō Practice at OBSERVATORY (Belfast, ME 10.25 - 11.18. 2022)

Performed at the opening reception of the solo show ・◯ TeN eN on October 25th and displayed till November 18. Belfast is a small historic town located at Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay. Beautiful autumn leaves scattering everywhere when I visited there. The biggest inspiration was the beach where seaweeds from sea and leaves from the town or woods met.

Ensō Practice (10.24.2022 - 11.19 Belfast, ME)

Fallen leaves (collected from the street) and fallen branches (from the forest) on top of seaweeds (from the coast).

Approximately 4 feet in diameter.

detail 11.15.2025 (3 weeks after installed) photo courtesy: smudge studio

installation view 3 weeks after being installed

Mobile installation Trace

Numerous photographic test pieces of Gampi-paper, which is high light-transmittance and feathery light-weigh were hung from the ceiling. The installation changes its expression ceaselessly through a day, by subtle changes of air and light conditions. It presents layered traces of sunlight (shooting and printing on each piece of sheet), traces of lives and the artist’s production process.

Trace (10.24-11.19. 2022, OBSERVATORY, Belfast, ME) Albumen prints, cotton thread, linen

Video Works: Wind (2022) Run time 22:13 mins, paired with a poem.

Wind(2022) reads as an omnibus directed by the wind itself — trees, grasses, bees, tiny insects play the main roles while human activities are only implied. Shot with iPhone held by hands without the assistance of a tripod, the videos also capture the changing state of both my mental and physical conditions simultaneously as I was affected by gravity, wind, movement of the subjects, etc..

Still from Wind (2022)

Still from Wind (2022) 22:13 minutes

Wind (written by Ayano Matsumae)

Wind is a breath

circulating on the earth

touching every entity on the earth.

I live in the breath of the earth.

Inhale.

I sense

it circling every cell of my body.

Like a sea breeze, it purifies my body

for every new moment of life.

Exhale.

I feel

warm energy rising deep in my body.

Like a boiling magma, it heats every cell of my body

for every new moment of life.

My breath goes back to a wind,

a breath of the earth,

that circulates on the earth.

As a person and an artist, I believe in the power of prayer and want to share the humble opportunities to pause, take a deep breath and reflect on the blessing of the sun and complex relationship between existence on Earth, which has been developing over at least 3.7 billion years, with possibly involving ingredients from universe.

・◯ ☉ and Ensō practice seek opportunities to be presented/performed.

Please feel free to contact at ayanophoto@gmail.com for possibilities!

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