Photo: Funada Kayo

Nobuko Watabiki's artistic world can be described as a journey of exploration that deeply delves into self-reflection and relationships with others. Looking back on her path as an artist, she shares in her own words the influence that her experiences in Germany, her current base, have had on her creative work, as well as her thoughts on the role of art in contemporary society.

The Path to Becoming an Artist: Doubts and Convictions

- What motivated you to pursue a career as an artist?

Watabiki: When I was studying printmaking in college, senior students often told me, "Women can't become professionals." I didn't know what to do, but I had the mindset of "I'll keep going until I absolutely can't continue anymore." I seriously decided to become an artist when I was around 28 years old. Before that, I worked  in jobs like those at advertising agencies. I sometimes wondered, "Is this really necessary for society?"

- I understand you also had experience working at a welfare facility.

Watabiki: Yes. I thought that if I was going to work anyway, it would be more fulfilling to do something that helps others. I worked at the Japan Federation of The Blind (now the "Japan Federation of the Visually Impaired"). There, I was overwhelmed by the incredible energy and positivity of visually impaired people who had established and were running their own organization. It was an experience that made me think, "Humans are amazing." Until then, I had been strongly focused on pursuing what I liked, which was quite personal, but there I started thinking about the social significance of "This is what's needed now!" However, because the work was busy and I couldn't find time for creating art, combined with my strong desire to paint, I ultimately chose the path of artistic creation.

Germany: A Land of New Challenges

View from the studio Photo: Funada Kayo

-  You moved your base to Hamburg, Germany in 2008. Why Germany?

Watabiki: When applying for the Agency for Cultural Affairs training program, I could choose my destination myself. At that time, I had an acquaintance in Germany, and when I visited, I had a good impression. Italy was also a candidate, but it was difficult to obtain a visa there. Germany offered the possibility of getting an artist visa, and having a friend there was reassuring. During the interview, I mentioned that an artist I had liked from an exhibition I saw when I was young was German, and that Japan and Germany had similarities in their post-World War II reconstruction processes, and that I was interested in what kind of cultural policies such countries implemented.

 -  The Agency for Cultural Affairs program was for one year, but you ended up relocating permanently.

Watabiki: Yes. I spent that first year without financial worries, and afterward, I continued my work from Japan via the internet, so I thought I could stay a bit longer. Living in an artist house helped keep rent down, and I was able to obtain an artist visa, so I decided to stay.

Exploring Communication Through Cultural Encounters

- How has living in Germany changed or influenced your work?

Watabiki: At first, everything was new and exciting. I quickly realized that people's way of thinking was different. I had thought there were similarities, but after actually living there, I realized that Japanese and German cultures are completely different. I felt this strongly.

In Japan, I had been active to some extent, so there was an image of "what kind of artist I was" from those around me, but in Germany, nobody knew me. There was a sense of pleasure in showing a single painting and starting from zero. I thought "I still have a future, I can do new things." Of course, I thought I could do that in Japan too, but I felt it more strongly in Germany.

 - Has being an immigrant changed how you view yourself?

Watabiki: Yes. Since I look and sound obviously foreign, being treated as an "outsider" is an everyday experience. It's a feeling I never had in Japan. I have to explain even minor things with words, and abstract expressions don't communicate well. Things that might be conveyed by atmosphere in Japanese need to be explicitly stated in German—whether something is plural or singular, masculine or feminine. This difference in communication is significant.

 - Are there any themes or works that emerged from your experiences in Germany?

Watabiki: From my experience as an immigrant, I started a series called "Family Portrait." Germany accepts many immigrants, but with such different cultures, understanding each other is challenging. Observing couples from different countries getting along through personal relationships, I felt this might be one answer to embracing diversity. I ask such couples to provide old clothes, which I cut and sew together into a single artwork. Getting old clothes can be quite difficult, but starting from there and participating in the work as an immigrant myself—this is a theme I continue to explore.

Evolution of Technique and Expression

In the artist's studio Photo: Funada Kayo

- Have your materials and techniques changed as well?

Watabiki: In Japan, I used to draw with oil pastels on washi paper, but in Germany, good quality washi is hard to find. So I started creating works using fabric, and later began painting with acrylic on canvas. Germany has a canvas culture, so materials are readily available. It had been a while since I used a brush, and at first it felt like an exercise, but gradually it became enjoyable. Oil pastels are like crayons, so they're completely different from brushes.

Painting with a brush changed the tempo of creation compared to oil pastels. With oil pastels, my thoughts and hand movements were synchronized, so what I thought came out directly. Acrylic is different. I may have become more inclined to think beforehand about "how I want to do this" and to paint more descriptively. I think the practice of explaining things in conversations in Germany has also influenced this.

 - Is your creative process also different?

Watabiki: When drawing with oil pastels on washi paper, you basically can't make corrections. There was a tension of in the moment decisions. With acrylics, I paint like watercolors, so in my case, I actually can't make many corrections either. With fabric, since I sew by hand, I can undo and redo it. I've become able to make adjustments afterward, which I couldn't do before. Sometimes I redo things so much I wonder when it will end, but there's a moment when I feel "now this has left my hands." It's close to a feeling of "I can't do any more."

 - Motifs like faces and plants appear in your works. What significance do these hold?

Watabiki: There are various types of abstraction, but for example, I feel I couldn't create something completely abstract like Pollock. I feel more confident drawing something with some kind of formal basis. I often draw faces and plants. When drawing plants, I see them as living beings like humans, and sometimes I have the same feeling as when drawing people. They're not plants that exist in reality, but forms that people recognize as "plants." If I made it completely abstract, I think I would feel like I've lost some kind of foundation.

History and Culture: Between Germany and Japan

Nobuko Watabiki in her studio Photo: Funada Kayo

- Since coming to Germany, has your thinking about the relationship between self and others changed?

Watabiki: The core may not have changed, but the way I express it might have. I came to Germany when I was 50, so I've spent more than half of my life in Japan. Still, changing where you live does affect you. I became more strongly aware of "myself within society."

Also, when speaking abroad, I'm often perceived not as "Watabiki speaking" but as "a Japanese person speaking." This sometimes makes me feel like I'm representing Japan, even when that's not expected. In my work as well, I've started thinking about what I'm inheriting from Japanese art history and what I value. For example, using simple forms like circles in my work might be a sense of simplification that I've inherited as a Japanese person.

When I contact people in Japan, I feel that society is changing rapidly, with "common sense" continuously evolving. The turnover of language is especially fast. Expressions that were once used freely and are now considered discriminatory are increasingly avoided. The speed of these changes is surprising.

 - How do you feel about the differences in cultural policies and historical awareness between Germany and Japan?

Watabiki: The way they communicate about post-war society is completely different. In Germany, regarding past wars, they clearly state in textbooks: "It was wrong, we apologize. And this is how the new Germany will be." In Japan, I feel that post-war settlement issues are handled in a rather abstract way.

Also, in Germany, it's very common to talk about politics and history, and having different opinions is not a problem. In Japan, dealing with themes like World War II in artwork might be difficult, partly because such topics aren't widely discussed in society as a whole.

The Role of Art in an Unstable Society

In the artist's studio Photo: Funada Kayo

- How do you come up with titles for your works?

Watabiki: I love Yoshiro Ishihara's words and find them beautiful. I was particularly influenced by his stance of "not accusing." Previously, I would borrow from his works for my titles. As a result, they kept getting longer and longer.

After coming to Germany, I initially didn't use titles because translation was difficult. However, I was advised that having titles would be better, so I started using them. It's difficult to translate the beautiful nuances of Japanese directly into German, so now I try to keep titles as short as possible.

 - Contemporary society continues to face unstable situations. What do you think about the influence art can provide in such times?

Watabiki: I thought deeply about this during the Great East Japan Earthquake. I happened to be in Japan at the time and returned to Germany right after the earthquake, but I became unable to do anything due to a sense of loss. At that time, feeling compelled to do something, I organized a mail art project ”TEGAMI - Perspectives of Japanese artist”.

Throughout human history, I don't think there has been a time without something like art—drawing on walls, decorating things. Whether they found it beautiful or it was some kind of wish, it has always existed. This probably means it's 100% necessary for humans. Even if I don't know exactly what it can do, I'm convinced it's something that should absolutely exist.

Previously, I was invited by someone who organizes exhibitions in a cancer ward to display my work there. I hoped it would provide a moment of peace or a trigger for feeling something for the patients and medical staff. I believe art supports people's hearts.

The Artist's Reflection on Her Work

Behind the words and contexts that have been spoken about until now, there exist works carefully depicted from the artist's perspective. The works selected for the exhibition to be held in Beijing quietly embody Watahiki's memories and gaze. Here, through Watabiki's own words, we will touch upon the thoughts and time invested in each work.

Nobuko Watabiki《Rose-from "The Little Prince"》2023, 40.0cm × 50.0cm, Acrylic on canvas

When I was about 10 years old, I read "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Even as I grew up, its worldview remained in my heart, and it became one of my favorite books. The inhabitants living on small, single-person planets, the fox who talks about friendship... I depicted the beautiful and proud rose from that story.

Nobuko Watabiki《Paradise-Ibasyo》2020, 180.0cm × 150.0cm, Acrylic on canvas

"Ibasyo" refers to a place where one belongs or feels at home. As a child, I dreamed of living alone in the forest. Now, as an immigrant, I contemplate my own place of belonging. I created this work while thinking about where I should be. There is no word in German that expresses this concept.

Nobuko Watabiki《Man and Plants》2023, 120.0cm × 150.0cm, Acrylic on canvas

I believe that humans and plants are alike as living beings. When I draw plants, they overlap with people. This circle of gathered flowers represents a human face, and the flowing river reflects my thoughts on the connection between all living things.

Nobuko Watabiki's work goes beyond the act of drawing, extending in various directions, but at its center is her relationship with others and self-reflection. The feeling of being an "outsider" that emerges from living in a foreign land, the curiosity for dialogue born from cultural differences—all of these are quietly woven into her expression.

The Realm of Tales: NOBUKO WATABIKI, YUJI KANAMARU