Komoremizu

Although I am Asian, I am not Japanese and when we were about to PCS to Okinawa come June 2017 I was bombarded with enquiry on whether I would learn the language. It's close to half a year now and I have not mastered the language but I love words and I made a quasi Sino-Sya's Japanese word. Komoremizu and here is the story on how it is conceived.

This word popped into my head when Misao Spencer, Denpa Ryousuke and I met up for the first time in August 2017. We begin by sharing about our works as artists. Our conversation led to our personal life and our roles as parents to our children. Names of our children came about and I mentioned that my fourth son's middle name is Komorebi as he was conceived in Japan and how our love for hikes inspired the name.

I proceed to ask Misao and Denpa, what is the word for the rays of light that filter through water or clouds and not the forest through foliage. They thought long and hard. We used Google translator and found no answer. I suggested Komoremizu since it has a nice ring to it and Mizu which means water is one Japanese word I am so familiar with since arriving on the island in summer.

What fascinates me about Komorebis and Komoremizus is that it is a beauty that is fleeting, temporal and ethereal. In Kanji, the second word- “more” is escape. And that's what we do in Nature as we hike, dive or fly...we escape from our daily existence to enter an alternate space of solace.

Personally, the word 'escape' also brings about a lot of negative connotations. The need to run away. The uncomfort of present time versus the want or desire of something besides. But escape is also a much needed destination of self. My artworks look at the different spectrum of thoughts and emotions as I shift from one plane to another.

Working on a piece of art is like watching komorebis and komoremizus. It is fully captured only when I pause for an extended period of time. The intentional flow of being in the moment versus taking a snapshot or rushing through will only give one a smidgen of the totality of things. A rare occasion but always a pleasure. So do I, as an artist, escape my life as a parent, friend, spouse into a realm of being. Being just me.