Wako Ishiguro

My name is Wako Ishiguro, and I’m a Japanese painter. I moved from Tokyo to London last summer, and now I paint in oils in my studio almost every day. Like opening up the pores of one's skin, like cracking open one's brain, I wanted to place myself back within that state of flux, and so I moved away from the island. (An island again, I know!) I build my paintings out of presentness and immediacy, and in a sense, being "No reason" lies at my core. I believe that meaninglessness — and the power found in that very fragility — is the path toward authenticity. It may be a philosophical inquiry, or perhaps it's simply my most natural bodily mechanism.

Process

My studio sits across the Thames from Tate Britain, in a building shared by around 600 artists. That scale, and that independent spirit, is something you don't find in Japan and I find it very comfortable. Coming here is enough to switch something on in me. Even when I don't feel like painting, I head to the studio almost every day regardless. What's interesting is that my mind, sometime thinks too much, but when my thinking has stopped and I've let go of effort that a good brushstroke can slip out, smoothly, almost on its own. It's a fleeting thing I can only recognize after the fact.

Influences

Now that I live in a foreign country, I could say everything has become a source of inspiration. My daily walks feel like a journey of encountering beautiful colors and forms. There's also a difference in mindset between Japan and here. In Japan, things often start from technique or established form, but here, work seems to always start from "what do I want to think about." The concept comes first, and the methods grow from there. That's why painting, sculpture, textiles, and video often cross over into each other, and I find that breadth and originality really moving. Because of this, I've started expanding beyond oil painting — letting my work grow freely from whatever I'm thinking about. I've made handmade artist's books, and — to deepen my exploration of "No Reason" — I've started new work using plant dyeing.

Challenges

Maybe I just forget the past too easily, but I honestly don't know what obstacles I've overcome — or if the real ones are still ahead! When it comes to painting itself, I tend to hold back rather than push too far, so I'm now trying to go further, even if it means failing. I also want to lean more into the nature of oil paint. To me, oil feels more "material" than other paints — almost three-dimensional rather than flat. Paint blue and red together, and it's not just purple — both colors can still exist as themselves, never opposing each other, always forming something new without turning muddy. I've been experimenting with ways to paint that lean into that quality even more.

Reflection

What's next? That's still unknown! There's so much I want to do, and so much I need to do. In a foreign country, everything simply takes time. But above all, I want to focus on making good work. And I've come to realize that, here, a path toward living professionally as an artist does exist, even if it's a steep and difficult one. Amid these new choices and possibilities, I'm now thinking about where to go, and how to get there.