Life

くらし
生活
生活
삶

This painting gives an impression that several small pictures have been put together. The sections depict a nude woman lying with her face hidden, a cat wearing a ribbon, and an object that could be a collapsing architecture or woodwork of some sort. There are turnips, a carrot, onions, leeks, a lemon and other things lying around the larger nude woman. The two women hiding their faces could be moaning over something or simply asleep having been exhausted. Their bodies are plump. The bellies thick with body fat are deeply incised with wrinkles that continue onto the sheets they are lying on. Five years after a severe war had come to an end, despite all sorts of grief, the women continue to eat, build up body fat, and lie down in order to survive tomorrow. Katsura’s works are often witty, but there is no obvious humor or satire identifiable in this painting. She is simply casting a profound look at women, who share the same sex as the artist.