Lions and Peonies｜Aya Kurashiki

In collaboration with the Matsudo Community Planning Council(town councils and residents’ associations around Matsudo Station), a new mural artwork by artist Aya Kurashiki has been created on the underground Miyanokoshi pathway south of Matsudo Station.
The site has so far hosted three mural paintings by invited foreign artists. While it has been difficult to invite overseas artists and hold large-scale events due to the border control measures against the pandemic, this time the project has been implemented over a period of six months, starting with on-site research in Matsudo in July last year, as a form of encouragement and support for young Japanese artists.

The mural motif is a cedar door painting of the Matsudo Shrine Kaguraden, Lions and Peonies

The artist’s research into Matsudo’s largest festival, the “Shinko-sai”, and interviews with the chief priests of Matsudo Shrine gave her a perspective on the role of women in the festival. Beyond the motif of the ‘Lions and Peonies’ motif used in the cedar door paintings of the Matsudo Shrine Kaguraden, the artist conceived a collage that asks the viewer about femininity and the safe haven on which it is based.

First outdoor mural for the artist herself, using ‘transcription’

The artist’s production technique, ‘transfer’, was combined with the support of the local community to create a large-scale outdoor work. The mural was produced in the following steps:
(1) Paint the walls white to create a base.
(2) Reverse the pattern and prepare large printed paper.
(3) Glue the printed side of (2) onto the wall.
(4) Wet the glued paper with water and scrape off the paper using a scrubber and file, leaving only the colour on the wall.
(5) Repeat steps 1 to 4 in order to overlap the pattern (this time there are three layers).
(6) Finish by applying transparent varnish to the entire surface.

Production schedule

Research period: July 12th – August 10th, 2021 *Interviews, etc. conducted at Matsudo Shrine
Conception and preparation period: August 11th – December 6th, 2021
Mural production period: December 7th, 2021 – January 17th, 2022

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Artist: Aya Kurashiki
Organisers: Matsudo Community Planning Council, PARADISE AIR
Mural size: 12.6m (width) x 4m (height)