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Mi Tse (To Live) by Kenji Najima
Habitats: Stories of Migration, Co-existence and Water by Tomoyo Ihaya
12th October- 31st October 2024
Kenji Najima andTomoyo Ihaya
About the Exhibition
Mi Tse (To Live)
Kenji Najima’s works emerge from his direct experiences in Ladakh, beginning with his first
visit here in March 2019 to conduct a Japanese woodblock workshop at LAMO. The weather
was still cold and harsh, yet he found much beauty in the barren fields and snow-capped
mountains. He loved the traditional buildings that blended in well with the natural landscape
and prayer flags fluttering in the wind. And he found the artists and local people he met there
kind and warm.
Each day he walked and walked, to observe street life and culture. During his stay, he visited
many old monasteries and attended prayer sessions. One day, he was touched to see a large
number of Buddhist followers moving together and prostrating, while chanting prayers as an
offering and devotion to Buddha and his teaching. To Najima, the act also felt like an offering
to the spirits of the earth, where humans were a part of the great natural environment. These
experiences made him want to learn more about the teaching of Tibetan Buddhism, especially
notions of mind, interconnectedness and compassion: a way of life and co-existence.
Habitats: Stories of Migration, Co-existence and Water
Since 2005, Tomoyo Ihaya has visited Ladakh 17 times. During her visits, she has researched
and produced art around the people and place. She is fascinated by the history of the people
of Ladakh and the distinctive natural environment. For this exhibit, Ihaya re-connects with
the people whom she has grown to know over her many visits, document and draw them
while interviewing them about their views on life. She hopes that this form of "mapping" of
Ladakh, will capture the unique social structure, spirituality and the natural environment.
Being aware of the rapid changes in the natural habitat, not only in Ladakh, but across the
world, how the environment has been impacted by excessive human activities, Ihaya hopes to
express the importance of co-existence among humans, all living forms and the nature
through spiritual awareness that she found in Ladakh.
All works were produced in Ladakh, Canada and Japan over 19 years with generous support
over the years from the Canada Council for the Arts.
About the Artist
Kenji Najima is from Tsu-City, Mie, Japan, and has a BA from Chukyo University, Nagoya.
He is an established Japanese contemporary woodblock print artist. Over his 30-year career,
Kenji has exhibited at numerous galleries across Japan and in other parts of the world
including Thailand, Serbia and Scotland. In recent years, he has extended his medium to
mixed media works using Japanese traditional materials. His work is held in public and
private collections nationally and internationally.
Tomoyo Ihaya is also from Tsu-City, Mie, Japan, and has a BA from Rikkyo University,
Tokyo, and an MFA from University of Alberta, Edmonton. She is a multi-disciplinary artist,
and her works have featured in solo shows in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Mexico,
India, Canada and the United States. Her work is held in public and private collections
nationally and internationally. Tomoyo has been living in Vancouver, Canada, since 2000.
