田村吉康 & マルファ・ヴァシリーヴァ

福島及びチョルノーブィリの原子力発電所事故からそれぞれ５年、３０年の節目の年だった2016年に開始された、この日本の画家・マンガ家田村吉康とウクライナの写真家マルファ・ヴァシリーヴァとのコラボレーション「高天原プロジェクト」は、開始当時には思いもよらなかった社会情勢の変化に晒されている。COVID-19のみならず、2022年に開始されたウクライナとロシア間の戦争により、当初はキーウで制作されていたこのプロジェクトは直接的に制作場所やペースの変更を迫られた。そして戦禍は未だ終わりが見えない。
このプロジェクトの中之条ビエンナーレへの参加は、2017年以降2回目となるが、2017年のステイトメントから比較すると、現在2025年の私たちは社会情勢に対してより一層の言及をすべきかも知れない。しかし、私たちが戦時下におけるプロパガンダの影響を受けていないと断言できない以上、敢えて戦争というテーマを直接的に取り上げるのは避けるべきだとも考えている。
むしろ、今回の中之条ビエンナーレに伴うマルファ・ヴァシリーヴァ再来日と、プロジェクトの再開に於いて、私たちは当初のステイトメントに立ち返ろう。2017年のステイトメントにはこう書かれている。
「理想郷を求める心は、たとえ現実の世界がどんなに汚れても、決して消えることはないはずだと、私たちは考え、このコラボレーションを、日本の古い神話にちなみ、『高天原プロジェクト』と名付けた。このプロジェクトを通じて、日本とウクライナ、両者に共通する、心の救済のシステムを探し、問いかけ、示したい。希望を捨てないために」
希望を捨てないための制作は、今こそ重要性を増したと言えるだろう。歴史や時事からの逃れられない影響を認識しつつ、同時に普遍性を希求する制作態度自体が、まさに「希望を捨てない」ためにより重要になったという考えに基づいて制作していく。

The Takamagahara Project, a collaboration between Japanese painter and manga artist Yoshiyasu Tamura and Ukrainian photographer Marfa Vasilieva, began in 2016, coinciding with the 5th and 30th anniversaries of the Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters. Since then, unforeseen global shifts have impacted the project. Beyond COVID-19, the 2022 Ukraine-Russia war directly disrupted its Kyiv-based production, forcing changes in both location and pace. The conflict remains unresolved.
This marks the project’s second participation in the Nakanojo Biennale since 2017. Compared to our past statement, today’s socio-political climate may call for greater engagement with global issues. However, as we cannot claim immunity from wartime propaganda, we must carefully consider the ethics of making war a central theme.
Instead, as we resume collaboration with Marfa Vasilieva upon her return to Japan, we reaffirm our original artistic statement from 2017:
“The pursuit of an ideal realm should never fade, no matter how tainted reality becomes. With this belief, we named our collaboration the ‘Takamagahara Project,’ inspired by ancient Japanese mythology. Through it, we seek to explore, question, and present systems of spiritual solace shared by Japan and Ukraine. Above all, we create to preserve hope.”
Today, creating with the intent of not losing hope is more crucial than ever. While recognizing history’s inescapable influence, we strive for a universal artistic approach—one that, in itself, sustains hope.

CV

Yoshiyasu Tamura

Born in 1977, Japan.
Tamura’s art career began from the early age of 15 when he started drawing manga.
In 2003 his first manga, Fudegami (JUMPCOMICS, Shūeisha) was published in a very popular monthly magazine called “Gekkan Shōnen Jump”.
After achieving national success, Tamura also started to get international acclaim for his works as a painter.
From 2011, he began exhibiting at Art Fairs worldwide starting with VOLTA 7 (Basel, Switzerland) and ART PLATFORM (Los Angeles, USA).
In 2014 he held a solo exhibition at Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence, Italy. and at the KYAS ART SALON, in Amsterdam.
In the same year, Tamura made a fruitful collaboration with the British fashion brand “McQ Alexander McQueen” for the 2014 woman Autumn-Winter collection 2014.
In 2016 he went on to exhibit at multiple Art Fairs such as OSTRALE ART FESTIVAL (Dresden, Germany), CONTEX ART MIAMI (Miami, USA), SCOPE BASEL (Basel, Switzerland), Akademia Lubranskiego Museum (Poznan, Poland).
In 2018-2019 he went back to his origins and worked on a manga titled “Devil’s Relics” written by Maître Gims, Darcy and JDMorvan released nationwide by Glénat in France. During this time his works were also shown at a recurring exposition in Amsterdam at KYAS. In 2018 his works were shown at SCOPE NEWYORK (New York, USA) and IFSOWHAT (San FranciscoUSA) among others.
In 2019, he participated in “Contemporary Art 2019 – Connection and Harmony” exhibition at Tomioka city museum (Tomioka, Japan). At the same time Tamura also held two solo exhibitions at SCOPE NEW YORK and VOLTA NEW YORK PLAN B (New York, USA).
In 2020 he was invited back to expose his art at Shinjuku Takashimaya, Japan. Additionally the first volume of ICON-TACT, a collection of his work, got published in the same year.
In 2021 Winsor & Newton selected Tamura to be their featured artist.
In 2022 Tamura released ICON-TACT 2.0
In 2023 Tamura released TAKAMAGAHARA PROJECT, the bodypaint photo artbook with Marfa Vasilieva.
In 2024 he held a solo exhibition at EMPATHY GALLERY (Tokyo, Japan), and THE SOLO PROJECT ARTFAIR (Brussels, Belgium), also he participated in KUNSTRAI (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and ART021 (Shanghai, China),

Marfa Vasilieva

1986 born in the USSR, grew up in an independent Ukraine and at the age of 27 moved to Amsterdam. Creator and developer of a patented methodology of working with women «Photo-therapy as a means of female self-cognition», rising of self-esteem, disclosure of femininity and sexuality through photography. This methodology and related projects were initiated in 2011.

-Exhibitions-

Montaka, 2022
‘Motanka’ is a photography, video, and documentary project featuring 100 female Ukrainian refugees and 20 Dutch people, that centers around Ukrainian culture, the war in Ukraine, and the tragedy of separated families. Motanka is a 5000 years old sacred doll, that was found in the Chernihiv region in Ukraine and is believed to symbolize the connection with one’s kin and roots. Motankas are ancient Ukrainian family talismans that symbolize goodness, prosperity, and hope. The project includes a scene with gratitude towards the Netherlands (for their response to the war and accepting refugees). The project was initiated in Amsterdam in November 2022 and is still in progress.

‘All Stars’, KYAS ART SALON, Group exhibition, Amsterdam, 2020

Kunst RAI, art fair, Breaking Fragility Series, Amsterdam, 2020

Breaking Fragility, Kyiv, 2019 ‒ Photography and film project featuring 63 Ukrainian women of different ages and body types gathered in one space. This project, although unintentional, was therapeutic for many of the women who participated.

Marfa’s World, Kiev, Ukraine 2017‒ an exhibition of drawings, music and poetry in made Gunma, Japan

NAKANOJO Biennale, Gunma, Japan 2017

Takamagara project ‒ a photography project created in collaboration with the Japanese artist Yosiyasu Tamura, photographs were presented at FUMA CONTEMPORARY TOKYO, BUNKYO ART at IKON-TAKT, Tokyo, Japan, 2016

Colorful Universes, photo exhibition, Amsterdam, 2016

Art Zaanstad, art fair, 2015. Photography in collaboration with Nissim Men

CLOUD PHOTO GROUP SHOW, Cloud Gallery Zaandam, Amsterdam, 2014

7 Madonnas of Maidan ‒ online exhibition about the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, Presented in G13 gallery, Kiev, Ukraine, 2014