Yasuhito Kawasaki
(Japan)
Ever since we were born, at home, we have been spending lots of time with people with similar faces as our own like parents, brothers, sisters, and relatives. That's why I think that a face that I recognise, and the features of that face, is infinitely similar to myself. For example, in some cases, we think the face of a pet dog resembles its owner’s, or the faces of a married couple resemble each other. I think it is a phenomenon that the feature of a face you recognize looks like your face, and you subconsciously choose the one with the same face or a similar one.
The portraits that I create in my artwork look like me because, in a subconscious manner, I select that person, I don’t imagine a specific person. I call it a self-portrait. And whether it's a figure of a man or a woman, I call it a self-portrait regardless of gender. I got married about a year ago and started living as a married couple. I accept a person who is different from me, and every piece of my artwork is about what I can see and think from the smallest society of two people.