‘Few (feu)’ is a French word that carries connotations of fire or lighting. The transformed, hazy memories and the whereabouts of time in Mochizuka’s paintings are derived from daily life, where one can visually perceive and remember through the presence of daylight and electric light. These visual memories are formed and seen through the light within the imagery. The fire in the darkness would illuminate and reveal the unseen.

Mochizuka paints from memory and imagination. A starting point or image is selected and abstracted for each new body of work. Moving away from traditional subject matters such as flowers, forests and foliage, and towards integrating them in an abstract manner, he started to use shaped canvases around 2016. His recent series of oil paintings with dark backgrounds and bursts of light colours integrates ancient lacquer techniques using multiple layers of paint to obtain deep, rich and smooth surfaces. As he rediscovers and discloses the underlying colour layers with his finger tips, the abstraction of floral motifs bursts from the canvas. Surrounded by the varnished surface, the imaginary nature from another world of psychedelic colours comes to mind and invites the viewers into other spaces full of vim and vigour. The act of manually rediscovering the unconsciously painted areas adds to the fascination and tantalising qualities of these daunting works.

Exhibition Opening: Saturday, 14 September, 2 - 5pm

Gallery address: 3/F, Blue Box Factory Building, 25 Hing Wo St, Aberdeen