Mariko Ventura

I work with the dynamics of landscape, including the manipulation of its effect based on our assumptions of what landscape means to us. Rather than presenting a factual reality, an illusion is fabricated to conjure the realms of our imagination. These landscapes establish a link between the landscape’s reality and that imagined by its conceiver. My works focus on the concrete question that determine our existence. The works feature coincidental, accidental and unexpected connections. By exploring the concept of landscape in a nostalgic way, I aim to develop forms that do not follow logical criteria, but are based only on subjective associations and formal parallels, which incite the viewer to make new personal associations.

My work is based on forms that emerge from memory of a childhood in Kyoto. Ancient walls of shrines and temples–landscapes that emulate gardens, raked sand and mountains–waves surrounding the city of my childhood.

© Mariko Ventura