Funny faces moody by day, night

Expressing his inner-emotions through multi-faced dolls, Japanese artist Mizuno Ryo has created a collection of 1,000 drawings, each featuring a doll with a huge, oversized head, which are now on display at the Shun Art Gallery.

Using a simple composition, he boldly manipulates each doll's facial features, drawing whatever comes to mind, depending on his mood.

One doll has a mouth big enough to feed a watermelon, another has two hands grown on to her face, and another face takes the form of a rusty robot. Each funny doll has a name, a birthday and distinct emotions.

The 39-year-old drew the paintings between 1997 and 1999, but never intended to make so many.

"At first I only wanted to test myself to see how far I could get," he said. "Then I realized 100 was not enough for me; however, 10,000 was obviously too much, so I decided to draw 1,000 pieces finally."

The slim man, who likes to hide under his baseball cap, never showed them to anyone before he finished painting them. He drew them only for his own sense of accomplishment.

"But then my mind changed and I wanted to let the whole world see them," he said. "So I went around looking for the perfect place to show them."

As it turned out, showcasing 1,000 paintings in the same place proved to be a bit challenging. There were simply too many drawings for one gallery to present them at the same time and in the same space.

Even when Mizuno won an award for his work at the 4th Taro Okamoto Memorial Award for Contemporary Art, only 100 drawings were exhibited.

While the faces were made into a book titled Funny Doll 1000, he still never managed to get them all on display in Japan, so he looked to the Chinese city when the opportunity presented itself at the Shanghai gallery.

"I never expected I would get the chance to realize my dream in Shanghai instead of Japan," he said.

Some of the drawings are quite dark, implying pain and suffering. Mizuno said this is a reflection of the reality of the world that sometimes lives inside his head.

"Though expressing my positive and negative sides, Funny Doll 1000 has become a vital part of my life. . (It) is the summary of my last 10 years and the beginning of my next decade."

The thousand pieces are lined along the walls of the gallery and form a labyrinth. Walk along the walls to the very center and you will find a video projection showing electronic images of his drawings.

The gallery has also set aside a corner for some of his newest works, which are miniature abstract drawings that have been etched onto crumpled paper balls, each with a diameter of no more than 3 cm. You will need to use the magnifying glasses provided for a closer look at the fine details.

Until Nov 8, 10 am - 6 pm (closed Monday)

Shun Art Gallery

50 Moganshan Road, Building No 3, Rm 103

莫干山路50号，3号楼103，熏衣社画廊

Tel: 5252-7189

Zhang Kun

(China Daily 10/10/2009 page14)