R ecently featured in her solo exhibition "Can Pop Art Show The Way To Nirvana?", Hikari Shimoda's Tamukeru #4 stems from a series that stays true to her iconic pictorial narrative of colourful, starry-eyed children that conveys rumination towards life's mysteries. Tamukeru, meaning to pay respects to those in passing, echoes the artist's exploration of existence and religion through her art. The innocently staring child, a recurring motif in Shimoda's oeuvre, is presented in a kaleidoscopic palette that brings a fantastical and magical delivery of revelation and clairvoyance. Having grown up influenced by manga and anime, the artist incorporates visual elements from pop culture into her compositions to celebrate the vibrancy of life and, at the same t.mes , deeply contemplative of human existence, mortality and vanity. The focus on the child's signature large eyes and full-frontal composition creates a perspective that stares into its viewers' inner mind, prompting a reflective experience into one's pondering of life and death. In doing so, a child's innocence and the powerful gaze of truth seek to provide a sense of claritys and catharsis into humanity and its connection with the world.

Before beginning her artistic career, Hikari Shimoda studied illustration at the prestigious Kyoto Saga University of Art and Aoyama Juku School. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and accident of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, Shimoda became increasingly interested in the interrelations of the world. Highly receptive to global happenings, the artist's commentary on contemporary society through her artistic expression catalysed her emergence as one of the significant rising artists from her generation.

The present work in progress posted by the artist on her instagrams
藝術家繪製本作中，源自藝術家 instagrams
(instagrams : hikarishimoda)

本作《奉獻#4》是較早前舉辦的下田光個展「普普藝術能展示通往涅槃的路嗎？」（Can Pop Art Show The Way To Nirvana?）的焦點展品，屬於一系列以色彩鮮艷、眼神閃爍的孩童為主題的畫作；下田以這標誌性的風格訴說著對生命奧秘的反思。Tamukeru的意思是「向逝者致敬」，這正好反映了藝術家透過作品探索存在與宗教的過程。天真無邪地直視觀眾的小孩是下田作品中經常出現的形象，她以萬花筒般繽紛的色調描繪這些孩童，呈現出不可思議、魔幻般的啟示。下田在成長過程中深受動漫文化影響，所以她亦於作品中融入來自流行文化的視覺元素，從而歌頌生命的活力，同時深入地審視人類的存在、死亡與虛榮。畫面焦點是孩子的一雙大眼睛，而且直勾勾地看著觀者，猶如直視觀者內心深處，引領觀眾反思自己的生與死。如此一來，藝術家透過孩童的純真與尋求真相的凝視，為人類以及人類與世界之間的連結，帶來一個清晰的視角及一種情感上的宣洩。

下田光在開展她的藝術生涯前，曾於享負盛名的京都嵯峨藝術大學及東京一所插畫學校「青山塾」修讀插畫。在2011年東日本大地震及福島核電廠事故後，下田開始對世界中千絲萬縷的連繫極感興趣。對國際時事極為敏感的下田以藝術評論當代社會，因而在同儕之中突圍而出，成為了當代藝壇其中一位重要的後起之秀。