Naoki

The overall theme of my artworks alludes to different types of struggles, either physically or mentally one experiences as a teenager. Through puberty, we all either experience a few of these issues; depression, bullying, sexual activity, drug use, alcohol use, struggle with body image, academic problems, peer pressure, and more. The goal of this theme is to make the audience aware of the different struggles teenagers go through and to somehow help those who feel and silently struggle with the same problems communicated in the artworks and concepts I have developed.

The works I have chosen to showcase are “Derealization”, “Fading Away”, and “Masculine”. These three artworks highlight a few of the different emotions and struggles we face as teenagers. Derealization is defined as a mental state where you feel detached from your surroundings. People and objects around you may seem unreal. Even so, you're aware that this altered state isn't normal. This first artwork was created with acrylic paint on a 14 x 16-inch canvas. The goal of this artwork was to illustrate how I felt at the time dealing with burnout and the loss of motivation and drive to keep going. With this being mentioned, I wanted to communicate my emotions creatively and see who goes through the same struggle when they see this piece. My second artwork is created through a digital animating, drawing, and editing software called procreate. “Fading Away,” was inspired by the figures painted in the background of “Derealization”. The lamp represented my childhood, paying homage to my childhood love for Pixar films by using their lamp mascot. The light disappearing from the lamp represents the end of my childhood, while the telephone symbolized the loss of communication, and lastly, the clock represented the loss of time, which was inspired by Salvador Dalí's The Persistence of Memory. For the third artwork, “Masculine,” I wanted this piece to focus on puberty and the development of craving sex and discovering sexuality. I also wanted to create a piece that focuses on the development of self-awareness of one’s body. The concept aims to normalize one’s physical and mental growth and changes instead of shaming it. The piece tackles the concept of masculinity, the fragility of it, and the many boundaries our society has placed on attaining inner peace with one's true masculinity. With all of that mentioned, each piece highlights different experiences and struggles we face as teenagers, as each piece aims to normalize and spread awareness of these experiences.