Since its first event in 2022, Hankyu Umeda Main Store has hosted its fourth pop-up store, which was held again this year for six days from June 17 to 22. This year, the store embraced the new concept of "HERALBONY ART PARK," creating a space where visitors could encounter and enjoy art as if strolling through a park. Hankyu Umeda Main Store, which continues to promote initiatives leading to diversity and a better future, is a special place for HERALBONY, whose vision is to "bring unique talent to the center of society and create a new culture," allowing the expressions of artists with disabilities to reach society as art and culture.

This year, under the theme "Encounter Art as if Strolling Through a Park," a wide variety of artworks and experiences were offered. During the event, actress and painter An Suzuki was welcomed for a talk event on the theme "Respect for Expression Changes the Way We See the World." This article reports on that event.

Proceeding with painting honestly, without setting a goal

Over 200 visitors gathered at the venue, and the talk began in a friendly atmosphere, as if they were not meeting for the first time. An Suzuki's natural way of wearing HERALBONY items in her daily life, often seen on Instagram, had been a topic of conversation within the company, creating an impressive scene where the brand naturally blended into everyday life.

Takamichi Matsuda (hereafter, Takamichi): Ms. Suzuki, you always wear HERALBONY products so beautifully, it's a big topic of conversation within the company. And today's vest and these jeans, you bought them privately, didn't you? It makes us really happy to see you wearing a HERALBONY cap on Instagram, too.

An Suzuki (hereafter, Suzuki): When I wanted to buy clothes, I first looked at HERALBONY's website. Then this vest appeared, and I thought, "This is really cute!" The balance of the colors and everything. Wearing real artwork is, after all, a very special thing, so I really wanted to wear it.

Fumito Matsuda (hereafter, Fumito): This vest is made from Saori weaving, a textile created through welfare initiatives in Iwate, and is the work of artist Yoshiko. There's a background story where many textiles are woven in the welfare sector but there's a problem of them not being utilized. So this is an initiative to create a new form for them with Nippon Homespun.

[Feature] Reading the Fabric Where Life Overlaps "Now">>

Takamichi: Today's pants have art by artist Toshio Okamoto in the pocket. He's an amazing artist who draws while lying down, with chopsticks in his mouth, listening to Anpanman songs at full volume. What did you like about these jeans that made you choose them?

Click here for Toshio Okamoto's artist page>>

Suzuki: Oh, that's cool! I was looking for pants, and since I also paint, I thought even if paint got on them, it would still look nice, so I chose them.

MC: You're also involved in creative activities yourself, and theきっかけ (trigger) for that was your planner, wasn't it?

Suzuki: I've always used a "Hobonichi Techo" planner, and I wondered what to write in the one-page free space each day. But I couldn't keep a text diary, and it felt embarrassing to read it later. On New Year's Day in 2016, I suddenly thought of trying to draw. Since then, I started drawing one picture a day, and that act really suited me. When I was drawing at the rehearsal studio, someone suggested, "Why don't you draw something for the staff T-shirts?" And from there, it led to publishing a book and holding solo exhibitions. Before I knew it, it felt like everyone had carried me along towards becoming an artist.

Takamichi: On New Year's Day, you "suddenly thought of trying to draw." What do you think prompted that?

Suzuki: I'm not really sure myself. I thought maybe if it was a picture, I could continue it one a day. I could draw a diary-like picture, or a completely unrelated one, I just thought, what could I keep drawing in this space, one picture a day? And it was drawing.

MC: What kind of things do you usually draw?

Suzuki: Basically, I don't decide anything in advance. I draw a line, draw a line, draw a line, and gradually it takes shape, and then I continue drawing towards what I see emerging from that. So at first, I really don't decide what to draw.

Fumito: That's quite similar to the sensibilities of HERALBONY's artists. They don't draw with a fixed final form in mind; many of them pursue the richness of the act itself, the pleasure of continuing it, and such things. Rather than seeking a finished product, I think they have a sense of seeking personal stability through continuing the act.

Suzuki: That's really true. Even with large paintings on canvas, I just keep drawing and exploring what it will become, even as I'm creating it.

Takamichi: I see! Your works, Ms. Suzuki, often feature unique color schemes and a wide range of colorful expressions. Is there a background to how you developed that style?

Suzuki: I started with line drawings, but a friend who saw them suggested, "Why don't you try drawing things with color?" and that's how I started with watercolors. Then, when I decided to hold a solo exhibition, I thought, "Okay, let's try canvas and acrylics." It really felt like one door opening after another each time. I started without knowing anything about how to draw or how to use paints, and I'm still experimenting as I go. Maybe I'm using them incorrectly, but I just draw thinking, "Well, it'll be fine."

Fumito: I think there's definitely a good side to not over-learning. Art Brut, too, because it's the expression of people who haven't received formal art education, possesses a primal and instinctive richness. In that sense, Ms. Suzuki's creative process might be similar. It's like, beyond learning, you meet people as you continue to draw, and through those encounters, you yourself are gradually updated. I feel it might be something like that.

*Art Brut: A French term meaning "raw art," referring to expressions created with unique ideas and methods, free from formal art education or existing artistic culture.

Suzuki: That's right. Perhaps that's why, for example, someone would appear and casually tell me, "This paint is better," or "If you hold the brush like this, you'll get this distance." For instance, recently I drew with Ryoji Arai in my Hobonichi Techo, and even then, Mr. Arai taught me about recommended art materials, which I then used to draw at home. I always feel like I'm experimenting while drawing.

Takamichi: Ryoji Arai is amazing, isn't he!

Meaning resides in the work through unintentional waiting

MC: Creating art is also a time for self-reflection. What kind of feelings do you actually have when you're drawing?

Suzuki: That's right. I feel like it's a form of exercise. My mind is very active, but at the same time, it's a very quiet time. In that state, I wait for the next color or my next move, drawing, then waiting, drawing, then waiting—repeating this process.

Since my work is displayed in exhibitions or purchased and welcomed into homes, I decide what kind of presence I want it to have. I want it to be a work that possesses energy that can lighten unpleasant feelings or help people go to work energized in the morning, supporting their daily lives. Also, I want to draw things that people can keep looking at for a long time.

Takamichi: In the statement for your solo exhibition, Ms. Suzuki, you also mentioned that it's important for meaning to dwell in the artwork as you draw. I think it's incredibly important for meaning to dwell in a work. As you draw, you get the feeling that things you didn't understand at first gradually start to emerge.

The same goes for the word HERALBONY. My older brother, who has severe intellectual disabilities accompanied by autism, wrote "HERALBONY, HERALBONY" in his free notebooks dozens of times when he was in elementary school. At that time, he himself didn't know what it meant.

And now, seven years later, I strongly feel that meaning has come to reside in the company and brand named after that word. Because there was the word HERALBONY, for example, a child with disabilities came to a department store for the first time today. Rather than deciding the meaning from the beginning, it has come to reside through various people. I strongly feel that's the case.

Fumito: Indeed, there are times when various people start to think about the meaning in that way. For example, if there were a "HERALBONY Swimming School," just hearing those words would immediately make people realize it's a place open to various individuals. The word HERALBONY itself, by having people bring their sensibilities to it, made a sudden leap from being a mysterious word. I'm truly delighted by that kind of meaning residing.

Takamichi: By the way, Ms. Suzuki, when do you feel that meaning has "dwelled" in your work?

Suzuki: It might be close to the moment when the work is completed. At first, I just layer things like an experiment, but gradually something starts to emerge there, to flow, becoming like a single living entity, a presence. And as I keep thinking, "Just a little more, just a little more," when I feel, "Ah, maybe this is it," it's already finished, or rather, it has appeared there.

In the latter part, we heard about Ms. Suzuki's wonderful experiences gained through art.

▪️An Suzuki Talk Session - Respect for Expression Changes the Way We See the World. Part 2