The circle within: Tomoko Fait and the language of the self
Tomoko Fait’s mandala-based abstractions reveal a profound dialogue between East and West: a meditation on unity, colour, and the depths of the human psyche. In an age saturated with visual noise and digital distraction, Tomoko Fait’s paintings emerge like meditative pauses, portals to a more centred, interior world. Her art is a journey inward, where abstraction becomes a spiritual act and the circular form of the mandala evolves into a living, breathing language of the self. In her paintings, the viewer encounters not mere geometry but the rhythmic pulse of consciousness itself: a visual dialogue between intuition and transcendence. Born in Japan and based in Rome for more than 25 years, Fait embodies the delicate balance between East and West, tradition and reinvention. Although she has not returned to her birthplace for over two decades, the memory of her cultural roots lives deeply within her art, not as nostalgia, but as an invisible rhythm guiding her creative flow. In Italy she has developed a distinctive artistic language that unites Japanese sensibility with the expressive freedom of Western abstraction. At the heart of her art lies the mandala, a circular symbol found in many cultures, signifying unity, totality, and the structure of the cosmos. In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, the mandala is a sacred diagram of the universe; in Jungian psychology, it represents the archetype of the self; the centre of wholeness within the psyche. Carl Jung himself drew hundreds of mandalas during his own process of inner exploration, noting how the form arises spontaneously in moments of psychic integration. For Jung, the circle was not decoration but revelation: the visual expression of the psyche’s instinct toward order and balance. In Fait’s paintings, this same archetypal force seems to be at work. Her mandalas are never static or mechanically symmetrical; rather, they unfold in waves of colour, motion, and light. She paints intuitively, without premeditated design, allowing the forms to grow from her inner state, a process of surrender rather than control. The resulting images radiate a sense of calm energy, as if the artist were capturing the vibration of thought itself. Each painting becomes an act of meditation translated into pigment, a visual mantra that both grounds and uplifts. The colour palette she employs is often delicate pastels punctuated by vibrant hues that reveals her refined sensitivity to emotional resonance. Her lines and shapes are fluid, circular, and organic, suggesting breath, expansion, and transformation. Fait’s abstraction thus resists the cold rationality sometimes associated with geometric art. Her mandalas are instead alive with feeling, an expression of the psyche’s invisible currents. They are as much emotional as they are spiritual, embodying the spontaneous dialogue between consciousness and the unconscious. In this sense, Fait’s paintings reflect what Jung called the process of individuation, the journey toward psychic wholeness. Her art arises from an intuitive centre, embodying what the psychologist described as “the striving of the self toward unity”. Each mandala seems to map an interior landscape, where opposites like chaos and order, matter and spirit, inner and outer, find temporary harmony. The circle, for Fait, is not a frame but a threshold: an entry point into the subtle dimensions of being. Her approach to abstraction distinguishes her from the formalism of Western modernism. While artists such as Malevich and Mondrian sought purity of form and reduction to essence, Fait’s abstraction remains organic, sensuous, and spiritually resonant. She does not seek to construct a perfect order but to reveal the living movement toward order, the pulse of the creative psyche itself. This gives her art a unique sense of spontaneity, a breathing rhythm that invites contemplation rather than analysis. Fait’s creative vision also extends beyond painting. Many of her abstract mandala designs and other motifs have been translated into fabric, flowing patterns that transform her inner imagery into wearable art. These textile works reveal the versatility of her language of forms and colours, proving that the mandala can inhabit not only canvas but also the living body. It would be both timely and visionary to introduce her designs during Malta Fashion Week, where art, texture, and identity converge in creative dialogue. Such a collaboration would bridge visual art and fashion, highlighting how Fait’s spiritual geometry resonates across disciplines. The influence of her Japanese aesthetic heritage is evident in her restraint, balance, and sensitivity to emptiness, that vital space in which energy flows. Yet her paintings transcend cultural categories. They speak to a universal longing for stillness in the midst of fragmentation, for the re-emergence of meaning through colour and form. In their layered transparency and subtle textures, one perceives an awareness of impermanence and renewal, much like the cyclical rhythm of nature itself. As I prepare to curate Fait’s forthcoming exhibition in Malta and Gozo, I am convinced that her art will find profound resonance here. The Maltese public, increasingly open to the intersection of art, spirituality, and wellbeing, will discover in her paintings an experience both intimate and transcendent. Her work offers not escape but reconnection – a reawakening of the inner eye that perceives harmony in the midst of chaos. In bringing her art to Malta, the intention is not merely to showcase a body of work but to create a space of reflection, an oasis for the soul. In a world increasingly dominated by spectacle, Fait reminds us of art’s sacred function: to restore contact with the self, to heal the divided psyche, to offer wholeness through beauty. Fait’s paintings are not to be deciphered but experienced. They invite the viewer to enter the circle within, to listen to the quiet voice of the unconscious, and to rediscover the luminous order that underlies existence. In their stillness lies motion; in their silence, a music of becoming. In the end, what her art reveals is timeless: that the journey toward the self is the true path of creation. Through her mandalas of light and spirit, Tomoko Fait speaks a language older than words: the language of the circle, the language
Tomoko Fait: Mapping the Psyche Through Visionary Abstraction
Tomoko Fait’s artistic practice stands at the intersection of symbolic depth, perceptual experimentation, and archetypal resonance. Her paintings weave together ancient spiritual imagery and modern visual strategies to explore the architecture of the psyche and its transformative processes. Across works such as Simmetrie e Asimmetrie Astrali, Il Settimo Giorno, and Sirena, Fait constructs intricate pictorial worlds where geometry, myth, and unconscious symbolism converge. Drawing from Carl Gustav Jung’s theories of archetypes and individuation, Fait treats the canvas as a site of psychic mapping. Mandala forms, concentric structures, serpentine figures, and cosmic spheres recur as central motifs, functioning not merely as aesthetic devices but as symbolic diagrams of inner life. In Simmetrie e Asimmetrie Astrali, the radiant eye framed within golden and silver crescents anchors a cosmogram that mirrors the structure of the collective unconscious, echoing Jung’s insight that mandalas act as vessels for psychic transformation. Il Settimo Giorno harnesses Op Art’s perceptual dynamism to create a spiralling vortex leading to a luminous red nucleus, simultaneously a perceptual illusion and a metaphor for psychic centration and wholeness. Meanwhile, Sirena unfolds as a dense, black-and-white psychical landscape where uroboric serpents, solar-lunar dualities, and sirenic archetypes articulate the fluid interplay between conscious and unconscious realms. What distinguishes Fait’s work is her capacity to bridge timeless symbolic systems with contemporary artistic languages. She draws from Jungian psychology, alchemical symbolism, and myth while employing visual strategies reminiscent of Op Art and visionary abstraction. Her compositions often oscillate between chaos and order, surface and depth, inviting viewers into a contemplative state that mirrors the psychic processes they depict. In doing so, Fait’s paintings transcend cultural boundaries, functioning as universal maps of inner experience. Ultimately, Tomoko Fait emerges as an artist-philosopher, using the language of abstraction to probe the mysteries of human consciousness. Her works are neither purely decorative nor purely theoretical; they are living images, dynamic arenas where myth, perception, and psyche intersect. Through her visionary iconography and symbolic density, Fait invites us to turn inward, to confront the archetypal landscapes within, and to glimpse the unifying centre of the Self. Tomoko Fait emerges as an artist deeply engaged with the mysteries of consciousness. Her paintings are not static symbols but living images, inviting viewers to enter their own inner landscapes and reflect upon the universal processes of transformation and integration. Through their rich iconography and rhythmic structures, these works transcend cultural boundaries, offering a contemporary meditation on humanity’s enduring search for meaning. Dr. Louis Laganà (Ph.D. Lough) Dr.Louis Laganà is a part-time Associate Professor at the University of Malta and lectures on the Arts for Health and Wellbeing. He has lectured extensively on Psychoanalysis and Art and History of Image Making at the University of Malta. Dr. Laganà is also an art historian, art critic, curator and practicing artist. He specializes in painting and printing. In past years, he carried out appraisal ad evaluation reports for artists, art collectors and insurance brokers. Email: louis.lagana@um.edu.mt Skype: Louis Lagana http://malta.academia.edu/LouisLagana
Amazonia by Tomoko Fait
Tomoko Fait’s Amazonia may be read less as a literal representation of the South American rainforest than as an imaginative cartography of the psyche, evoking what C. G. Jung described as the inner landscape. The painting does not present the Amazon as a geographic terrain but as an archetypal forest, an image of the unconscious that is at once chaotic, fertile, and regenerative. The dense layering of forms, interwoven organic patterns, and vibrant chromatic contrasts suggest the inexhaustible vitality of the unconscious, its “boundless profusion of images” (Jung, 1968/1981, p. 46). At the centre of the composition, one perceives a central, mandala-like flower, radiating as a nucleus amidst the surrounding visual tumult. In Jungian psychology, the flower functions as a universal symbol of psychic growth and individuation. Jung (1959/1968) observes that mandalas and floral motifs often emerge spontaneously in dreams and artworks as symbols of the Self, representing the wholeness that transcends ego-consciousness (pp. 334–335). One may thus interpret the central flower in Amazonia as a representation of the psychic centre, the “inner guiding symbol” that orients the subject amidst the labyrinth of unconscious material (Jung, 1959/1968, p. 356). The surrounding imagery, tangled, multilayered, and full with shifting organic forms, may be associated with what Jung (1959/1968) called the ‘prima materia,’ the chaotic substrate of psychic life from which transformation and renewal arise (pp. 170–172). The flowing textures evoke vegetal abundance but also psychic complexity, oscillating between order and disorder. This duality reflects the ambivalent nature of the unconscious, as both threatening (the “dark forest”) and creative (the “source of renewal”) (Jung, 1967/1989, p.113). The use of bright, almost hallucinatory colours can further be understood in relation to the notion of visionary art, which, as Jung argued, often accesses collective archetypes and symbolic strata beyond the personal unconscious (Jung, 1930/1966, pp. 86–87). The psychedelic density of Amazonia echoes this visionary dimension, suggesting the artist’s attempt to render the psychic forest as a liminal space between chaos and order, fragmentation, and integration. In psychoanalytic terms, the central flower also recalls the Freudian notion of condensation, in which diverse psychic contents are symbolically concentrated into a single image (Freud, 1900/1953, p. 312). The flower becomes the condensation point of the painting’s unconscious energies, simultaneously fragile and radiant, threatened and sustained by the surrounding forest. Thus, Tomoko Fait’s Amazonia functions as a psycho-symbolic image: a psychic forest that stages the dialectic of chaos and centre, unconscious proliferation, and symbolic integration. It invites the beholder into an inner journey parallel to what Jung described as the process of individuation, wherein one confronts the wild, fertile unconscious to find the flower, the centre that guides psychic wholeness. In this series of five works, I view Tomoko Fraid as a visionary artist whose mandala-like imagery emerges through meditative practice and the affective resonance of her unconscious. The symbols that surface in her paintings may be read as archetypal expressions, generated through an inner dialogue with the self and articulated in layered textures and chromatic harmonies that evoke processes of individuation and psychic integration. References Freud, S. (1953). The Interpretation of Dreams (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1900). See especially p. 312 on the process of condensation in dream imagery. Jung, C. G. (1966). The Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1930). See pp. 86–87 on visionary art as accessing archetypal images. Jung, C. G. (1968). Psychology and Alchemy (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1944). See pp. 170–172 on the prima materia and its psychic significance. Jung, C. G. (1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1959). See pp. 334–335 on mandala symbolism; p. 356 on the Self as psychic centre. Jung, C. G. (1981). The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1968). See p. 46 on the profusion of images generated by the unconscious. Jung, C. G. (1989). Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1967). See p. 113 on the ambivalent nature of the unconscious as both destructive and regenerative. Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing.
Il Settimo Giorno by Tomoko Fait
Tomoko Fait’s Il Settimo Giorno presents a striking exploration of circularity and depth, where concentric forms seem to fold into one another, producing a vortex-like effect that draws the viewer into its centre. Through the repetition of circles within circles, the artist achieves the illusion of a tubular cylinder diminishing in scale, terminating in a small yet intense red nucleus. This optical mechanism positions the work in dialogue with Op Art, the mid-twentieth-century movement exemplified by figures such as Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, who sought to activate perception through rhythm, vibration, and retinal instability (Livingston, 1999, pp. 23–25). Like Riley’s kinetic fields or Vasarely’s geometric distortions, Fait’s painting destabilises surface and depth, inviting a perceptual experience that oscillates between immersion and detachment. The title, Il Settimo Giorno (“The Seventh Day”), introduces an additional hermeneutic layer. In the Judeo-Christian cosmology, the seventh day marks divine rest, the consummation of creation (Genesis 2:2). The visual structure of circles collapsing toward a central nucleus may therefore symbolise both completion and transcendence. The concentric form itself resonates strongly with Jungian psychology, particularly the archetype of the mandala, which Jung described as a symbolic representation of psychic wholeness and the Self (Jung, 1959/1968, pp. 355–357). Jung noted that circular and spiral forms emerge in moments of psychic transition, embodying the process of individuation, where disparate elements of the personality are drawn into integration. The vortex in Fait’s painting could thus be understood as a visual metaphor for psychic centration, the red nucleus functioning as a symbolic coniunctio: a union of opposites and a vital energy point around which the psyche is oriented (Jung, 1963/1989, pp. 395–399). In this context, the optical illusion is not merely perceptual play but becomes psychologically charged: the pull toward the centre echoes the psyche’s teleological movement toward integration and balance. The “seventh day,” then, may be interpreted as both theological and psychological stillness, the culmination of activity, a symbolic rest where unity is attained. By combining the perceptual dynamism of Op Art with the archetypal symbolism of the mandala, Fait situates Il Settimo Giorno within a field that bridges art historical innovation with timeless psychic imagery, producing a work that resonates simultaneously on optical, symbolic, and existential levels. References Jung, C. G. (1959/1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (2nd ed., R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton University Press. (pp. 355–357 on mandalas and the Self). Jung, C. G. (1963/1989). Mysterium Coniunctionis: An Inquiry into the Separation and Synthesis of Psychic Opposites in Alchemy (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). Princeton University Press. (pp. 395–399 on the coniunctio as psychic union). Livingston, M. (1999). Optic Nerve: Perceptual Art of the 1960s. MIT Press. (pp. 23–25 on Riley’s perceptual strategies). Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing.
Sirena by Tomoko Fait
Tomoko Fait’s Sirena presents itself as a dense, labyrinthine composition that evokes Jungian archetypes and symbols through its intricate interplay of patterns, textures, and emergent forms. Executed in a predominantly black-and-white idiom with selective use of colour, the work draws the viewer into what appears as a psychical landscape, a visual analogue to the unconscious. At the heart of the composition, a serpentine form seems to weave itself into and out of concentric mandala-like structures, a direct visual echo of Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of the uroboros, the primordial serpent devouring its own tail. Jung interprets the uroboros as a symbol of the “round of existence” and the “indestructible life process” that embodies both creation and destruction, a representation of the totality of unconscious processes (Jung, 1981a, pp. 213–214). Jung continues to identify the ‘snake’ or ‘serpent’ maintains its strength a symbol of psychic energy undergoing transformation. This symbol is broad and complex and has three fundamental types: the chthonic serpent, the serpent which is a symbol of time, and the serpent as a symbol of salvation (Jung, 2017 p. 27). In Fait’s rendering, this serpent-like figure actually a Sirena, appears in proximity to a luminous circular form, rendered in yellow, that oscillates between interpretations as sun and moon. Jung described the sun as an archetype of consciousness and the divine principle of illumination (Jung, 1981b, p. 52), while the moon appears as a complementary symbol of the unconscious, darkness, and transformation (Jung, 1981b, p. 54). Their juxtaposition suggests a dialectic between opposites, a visual expression of the coniunctio oppositorum central to Jung’s theory of individuation. The title Sirena introduces another mythopoetic layer. The siren, a liminal figure drawn from Mediterranean mythology, embodies both seduction and danger, and can be interpreted as a manifestation of the anima, the feminine archetype mediating between conscious and unconscious psychic realms (Jung, 1981b, pp. 14–15). In Fait’s work, the siren is not rendered in representational form but abstracted into a field of flowing, ornamental waves and undulating lines. This formal choice aligns the figure with the fluid dynamism of the unconscious, resisting stable identity and emphasising perpetual transformation. A further parallel may be drawn with Jung’s own visionary imagery in The Red Book (2009, p.245), where he depicts the serpent penetrating a nucleus, an image symbolising the unconscious and the transformative process of psychic integration. In this sense, Fait’s Sirena resonates not only with mythological archetypes but also with Jung’s personal exploration of the unconscious, positioning the siren as a threshold figure that both conceals and reveals psychic depths. The painting’s densely patterned zones evoke mandalas, which Jung identified as archetypal symbols of psychic wholeness and self-orientation (Jung, 1989, pp. 196–197). For Jung, mandalas frequently emerged in the drawings and dreams of patients at moments of psychic crisis or transformation, serving as symbolic maps of the psyche’s striving toward order (Jung, 1981a, p. 373). The concentric patterns and spiral motifs in Fait’s composition suggest precisely this integrative function, while the interlacing of organic and geometric forms recalls the interplay of chaos and order inherent to the unconscious terrain. Beyond its symbolic content, Sirena resonates strongly with Jung’s technique of active imagination. Jung developed this method to allow the unconscious to express itself through spontaneous imagery, often in the form of drawings or visions. He argued that such images were not mere decoration but living expressions of psychic reality, a “dialogue with the inner world” (Jung, 1989, p. 182). Fait’s dense ornamental structures, unfolding organically without fixed narrative, embody this process of allowing unconscious material to emerge in visual form. In this sense, Sirena may be seen not only as a finished artwork but also as a manifestation of psychic engagement, wherein art functions as a bridge between conscious ego and the archetypal depths of the unconscious. Through this constellation of archetypal motifs and its affinity with active imagination, Fait’s Sirena can be understood as a visual cartography of inner life. By fusing the siren’s mythological resonance with the uroboric serpent, solar-lunar duality, mandalic wholeness, and the open-ended process of imaginative emergence, the painting materializes what Jung called “archetypal images of transformation”—psychic constellations that mediate between the personal and collective unconscious (Jung, 1981a, pp. 170–171). References Jung, C. G. (1981a). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1959). pp. 170–171, 213–214, 373. Jung, C. G. (1981b). Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1951). pp. 14–15, 52–54. Jung, C. G. (1989). Memories, Dreams, Reflections (A. Jaffé, Ed.; R. & C. Winston, Trans.). Vintage. (Original work published 1961). pp. 182, 196–197. Boechat, W. (2017). The Red Book of C.G. Jung. British Library Cataloguing, UK. p. 27. Jung, C. G. (2009). The Red Book: Liber Novus (S. Shamdasani, Ed.; M. Kyburz, J. Peck, & S. Shamdasani, Trans.). W. W. Norton. p. 245. Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing.
Description and Interpretation of Tomoko Fait’s Rêve dons l’Europe
Tomoko Fait’s Rêve dons l’Europe presents a vivid field of dynamic, interweaving forms that suggest both cosmic and psychic landscapes. The painting is dominated by a central circular motif, resembling an eye, mandala, or vortex, encircled by radiating patterns of fiery reds, yellows, and blacks. This circularity recurs throughout the work, with spiral and concentric formations proliferating across the surface, producing a hypnotic rhythm that evokes the archetypal symbol of the mandala as a representation of psychic wholeness and integration (Jung, 1959/1968, pp. 646–657). In the lower right quadrant, a pale, serene face emerges, eyes closed, as if in dream or trance. This face functions symbolically as the personification of the unconscious psyche, suspended within the pulsating energy of the surrounding patterns. It suggests a surrender to the flow of unconscious forces, embodying the dream state implied by the work’s title (Rêve, “dream”). The placement of the face in a peripheral yet prominent position indicates both the presence and hiddenness of the self within the vast unconscious terrain. The painting’s surface is saturated with micro-patterns, that is, the swirls, spirals, cellular clusters are all reminiscent of both natural forms (cosmic nebulae, organic growths) and visionary, psychedelic imagery. These proliferations reflect the process of active imagination in Jungian psychology, in which spontaneous symbols emerge from the unconscious without rational control (Jung, 1959/1968, pp. 358–400). Tomoko Fait’s artistic process, allows the image to unfold spontaneously which aligns with Jung’s emphasis on art as a medium of psychic individuation, where symbolic motifs reveal the deeper archetypal strata of the psyche. The recurrent circular symbols throughout the painting may be read as archetypal representations of the Self, the central ordering principle of the psyche. Their multiplicity, however, resists closure, which suggests the ongoing flux of psychic energy and the impossibility of final synthesis. The contrast between chaos (the fragmented, intensely detailed textures) and order (the mandalic circles) enacts the dialectic of the conscious and unconscious mind, a tension essential for the individuation process (Samuels, Shorter & Plaut, 1986, (pp. 76–80). The use of intense colour fields—red, blue, purple, green—recalls the symbolic associations of alchemical imagery, which Jung regarded as metaphors of psychic transformation. The fiery reds and yellows surrounding the central circle may suggest the rubedo, or stage of integration, while the dark peripheries resonate with the nigredo, the confrontation with the unconscious shadow (Jung, 1963, pp. 118–125; 759–766). Thus, Rêve dons l’Europe can be interpreted as a psychic cartography, mapping the interplay of archetypal energies within the unconscious. The serene face anchors the viewer within this kaleidoscopic field, serving as a reminder of the human subject navigating the vastness of psychic experience. References Jung, C. G. (1959/1968). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works, Vol. 9, Part 1). Princeton University Press. Jung, C. G. (1963). Mysterium Coniunctionis (Collected Works, Vol. 14). Princeton University Press. Samuels, A., Shorter, B., & Plaut, F. (1986). A Critical Dictionary of Jungian Analysis. Routledge. Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing.
A Vision of the Self: Jungian Archetypes in a Contemporary Mandala
This painting by contemporary Japanese artist, Tomoko Fait, unfolds as a complex meditation on the psyche, where geometry, colour, and symbolism converge to form a visionary cosmogram. At its heart is a striking, all-seeing eye, framed by two radiant crescents: one in gold, the other in silver, encircled by intricate mandala patterns and radiating planetary spheres. The eye, a universal archetype, embodies consciousness and inner vision; across traditions it has been revered as a gateway to divine wisdom, from the Egyptian Eye of Horus to the Eastern Third Eye. Positioned at the centre of this composition, it signifies a deep act of introspection, an awakening of the Self. Carl Gustav Jung identified the mandala as a primordial image that spontaneously emerges from the unconscious, often during periods of psychological transformation. He wrote: “The mandala serves a conservative purpose, namely, to restore a previously existing order. But it also serves a creative purpose, expressing an evolution of personality, a step toward a new centre of personality, a higher plane of consciousness” (Jung, 1964, p. 225). This painting embodies that principle: its symmetrical, concentric forms provide a stabilizing framework for a riot of colours and spirals, reflecting the tension between chaos and order that accompanies individuation. Like Jung’s own mandalas from his Red Book period, this work feels less like ornamentation than a symbolic diagram of the psyche, a visual narrative of its movement toward integration and wholeness. The interplay of the golden and silver crescents introduces an alchemical dimension, symbolizing the union of opposites: sun and moon, masculine and feminine, conscious and unconscious. Surrounding spheres and spirals evoke cosmic order, reinforcing Jung’s observation that the structure of the psyche reflects the structure of the universe itself. The vibrant palette, psychedelic yet harmonious, further emphasizes the artwork’s visionary quality, transforming the mandala into a dynamic meditation rather than a static symbol. Scholars have long noted that mandalas, originating in Buddhist and Hindu traditions, serve as “psychocosmic diagrams,” mapping both the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of the human mind (Tucci, 1961). This painting draws on that tradition while speaking in a contemporary visual language, illustrating what Snodgrass (1985) describes as the mandala’s “universal resonance,” its ability to transcend cultural boundaries and invite spiritual contemplation. Through its geometry and symbolic density, the painting functions as a mirror of the collective unconscious, where archetypal forms and mythic images resurface. It invites the viewer into a contemplative state, echoing Jung’s insight that mandalas act as “vessels” for psychic transformation. Here, art becomes a bridge between inner and outer worlds, revealing the Self, the unifying centre of the psyche, as a luminous presence. This is not merely decorative art but a profound visual theology of the soul, a map of consciousness that speaks across cultures and epochs, reminding us of humanity’s timeless search for meaning and transcendence. References Jung, C. G. (1964). Man and his symbols. London: Aldus Books. Snodgrass, A. (1985). The symbolism of the stupa. Ithaca: Southeast Asia Program, Cornell University. Tucci, G. (1961). The theory and practice of the mandala: With special reference to the modern psychology of the unconscious. London: Rider. Dr. Louis Laganà PhD (Lough) is an academic, curator and practising artist. He lectures on Art and Psychoanalysis and Art for Health and Wellbeing. Mob: +356 79265356 Email: louis.lagana@um.edu.mt
Martine Delaleuf, Presidente
While the main objective of the Salon des Artistes Français (Exhibiton of French Artists) is to perpetuate French artistic history at the same time as offering a prestigious showcase of new talents, it has also endeavoured to embody its cultural ambition through programmes and exhibitions, whose plurality and quality have been successful for several decades now. ”Often envied, sought after, denigrated, coveted, the Salon remains a living force, warm, responsive to artists’ expectations. No matter the variety of disciplines or the diversity of trends, the Society of French Artists owes its durability to the energy, talent and independence of its artists. In 2018, a heritage “duty” is essential for our Salon (worthy successor to the first salons dependent on official powers) and that duty determines priorities: the transmission of knowledge between old and new, the promotion of traditional techniques in contemporary movements, the sharing of expertise, looking to the future…,” says Martine Delaleuf, president of the Society of French Artists. The Salon confirms its as “Cursor of the History of Art” After a 228th edition acclaimed by the public, critics and institutions alike, the Salon des Artistes Français continues to assert its identity: an exhibition of discoveries and encounters that offers another look at the History of Art. A determined orientation that is enjoying growing success as proven at the previous edition, which was especially removed and dynamic, with an attendance of more than 33,000 visitors (+ 20% attendance since 2014). my blog While the main objective of the Salon des Artistes Français (Exhibiton of French Artists) is to perpetuate French artistic history at the same time as offering a prestigious showcase of new talents, it has also endeavoured to embody its cultural ambition through programmes and exhibitions, whose plurality and quality have been successful for several decades now. ”Often envied, sought after, denigrated, coveted, the Salon remains a living force, warm, responsive to artists’ expectations. No matter the variety of disciplines or the diversity of trends, the Society of French Artists owes its durability to the energy, talent and independence of its artists. In 2018, a heritage “duty” is essential for our Salon (worthy successor to the first salons dependent on official powers) and that duty determines priorities: the transmission of knowledge between old and new, the promotion of traditional techniques in contemporary movements, the sharing of expertise, looking to the future…,” says Martine Delaleuf, president of the Society of French Artists. The Salon confirms its as “Cursor of the History of Art” After a 228th edition acclaimed by the public, critics and institutions alike, the Salon des Artistes Français continues to assert its identity: an exhibition of discoveries and encounters that offers another look at the History of Art. A determined orientation that is enjoying growing success as proven at the previous edition, which was especially removed and dynamic, with an attendance of more than 33,000 visitors (+ 20% attendance since 2014). While the main objective of the Salon des Artistes Français (Exhibiton of French Artists) is to perpetuate French artistic history at the same time as offering a prestigious showcase of new talents, it has also endeavoured to embody its cultural ambition through programmes and exhibitions, whose plurality and quality have been successful for several decades now. ”Often envied, sought after, denigrated, coveted, the Salon remains a living force, warm, responsive to artists’ expectations. No matter the variety of disciplines or the diversity of trends, the Society of French Artists owes its durability to the energy, talent and independence of its artists. In 2018, a heritage “duty” is essential for our Salon (worthy successor to the first salons dependent on official powers) and that duty determines priorities: the transmission of knowledge between old and new, the promotion of traditional techniques in contemporary movements, the sharing of expertise, looking to the future…,” says Martine Delaleuf, president of the Society of French Artists. The Salon confirms its as “Cursor of the History of Art” After a 228th edition acclaimed by the public, critics and institutions alike, the Salon des Artistes Français continues to assert its identity: an exhibition of discoveries and encounters that offers another look at the History of Art. A determined orientation that is enjoying growing success as proven at the previous edition, which was especially removed and dynamic, with an attendance of more than 33,000 visitors (+ 20% attendance since 2014). While the main objective of the Salon des Artistes Français (Exhibiton of French Artists) is to perpetuate French artistic history at the same time as offering a prestigious showcase of new talents, it has also endeavoured to embody its cultural ambition through programmes and exhibitions, whose plurality and quality have been successful for several decades now. ”Often envied, sought after, denigrated, coveted, the Salon remains a living force, warm, responsive to artists’ expectations. No matter the variety of disciplines or the diversity of trends, the Society of French Artists owes its durability to the energy, talent and independence of its artists. In 2018, a heritage “duty” is essential for our Salon (worthy successor to the first salons dependent on official powers) and that duty determines priorities: the transmission of knowledge between old and new, the promotion of traditional techniques in contemporary movements, the sharing of expertise, looking to the future…,” says Martine Delaleuf, president of the Society of French Artists. The Salon confirms its as “Cursor of the History of Art” After a 228th edition acclaimed by the public, critics and institutions alike, the Salon des Artistes Français continues to assert its identity: an exhibition of discoveries and encounters that offers another look at the History of Art. A determined orientation that is enjoying growing success as proven at the previous edition, which was especially removed and dynamic, with an attendance of more than 33,000 visitors (+ 20% attendance since 2014). While the main objective of the Salon des Artistes Français (Exhibiton of French Artists) is to perpetuate French artistic history at the same time as offering a prestigious showcase of new talents, it
“The Poetic Reality”
The vivid world of Tomoko Your head begins to spin as you delve into Tomoko’s unique compositions, and yet it is from this starting-point, this feeling of bewilderment, that you must begin to examine them. It is a sense of incredulous amazement which leads you to explore, like putting your eye to a microscope, the world of micro-organisms which teams in her works and creates the poetic reality of which they are constituted. Their primordial element, in fact, is the single dot, the tiniest mark with the tip of a pen, which, multiplied by thousands with movements of the artist’s hand, then disappears into patterns of light and shade, into universes of stars and galaxies and into worlds wandering in space. This is the first layer of Tomoko’s paintings, but rather than providing a mere support for the work, the base on which to set out the ghosts and fables of her imagination, it already forms part of the composition which is emerging from her imagination. The dots, lines and marks are like the corpuscles of a living organism, the intricate nework of a coral reef. They cluster together to form the veins of a petal, the scales of a reptile, the intricacies of lace, the dust from the tail of a comet. These, in turn, form the framework of other, increasingly complex, shapes, in which can sometimes been discerned vague glimpses of human or animal shapes, fleeting and subtly disguised, perhaps just the turbulent expansion of a sign which may never have a discernible end. At this point, recalling Tomoko’s origins, we might be tempted to compare her intricate graphic designs to the decorations on kimonos, to the embroidery on their panels, and to the stylised depictions of chrysanthemums or cherry blossom. Or, due to the preponderance of black and white, we might liken them to the monochrome sumi-e, or to the tan-e, when she interrupts their uniformity with a vermillion brushstroke. But we would be mistaken, because there is no trace of “floating worlds” in her pictures, not to mention the other typical imagery of Japanese art. It is only in the subtle delicacy of the shades in certain works, such as “Cattedrale” (Cathedral) or “Totem”, or the colours of the puppets with disjointed limbs in “Passeggiata nello spazio” (Walk in Space) or of “Lo sciatore pazzo” (The Mad Skier) that truly remind us of misty landscapes or of the characters in the Kabuki theatre of some eighteenth-century ukiko-e master. Similarly, to come back to Europe, we should exclude a reference to the intricate colour compositions of Klee, or the dynamic sequences found in Futurism, however far she seems to approach them in terms of technique and use of colour in works such as “Giocattoli” (Toys), “Esercizi di scrittura” (Writing Exercises) and “Atollo” (Atoll) and “Estate” (Summer) respectively. It seems then, that the poetic creativity of Tomoko is completely her own, developed and matured during long walks through alien lands after a traumatic process of uprooting from her origins, even if it is justifiable to believe that the cultural roots of Japanese calligraphy persist in the perfection of her lines, and the insistent and repetitive sequence of marks on paper echo the chanting of mantras. But, apart from that, the indisputable reality which emerges from Tomoko’s work is that her pictorial world finds the true source of its originality within itself. This is not just with regard to the spirituality which guides her, and the technical ability and sophisticated use of colours which she employs to present the viewer with emotional elements, bursts of sensations, implied ironies or metaphysical hyperbole “The first Day”, but also to the novel way in which she suggests to us, within certain limits, that she has totally made it her own. It is something which consists in the overall effect of the composition, in the maze of curlicues, and in the lightness or violence of the chromatic variations; but also, and above all, in the aforementioned microcosm that can be found in every small detail “The sixth Day”, making us consider the inspiration behind it and whether its evolution is just an illusion. Because we know the artist, we know that all the many parts form a whole and have titles that lend them meaning; but why shouldn’t we allow ourselves be seduced by the idea that a small fragment, enlarged to form a picture, is enough to convince us that we have, in front of us, a true work of art? Evripidis Petridis – Milan 2017 The vivid world of Tomoko Your head begins to spin as you delve into Tomoko’s unique compositions, and yet it is from this starting-point, this feeling of bewilderment, that you must begin to examine them. It is a sense of incredulous amazement which leads you to explore, like putting your eye to a microscope, the world of micro-organisms which teams in her works and creates the poetic reality of which they are constituted. Their primordial element, in fact, is the single dot, the tiniest mark with the tip of a pen, which, multiplied by thousands with movements of the artist’s hand, then disappears into patterns of light and shade, into universes of stars and galaxies and into worlds wandering in space. This is the first layer of Tomoko’s paintings, but rather than providing a mere support for the work, the base on which to set out the ghosts and fables of her imagination, it already forms part of the composition which is emerging from her imagination. The dots, lines and marks are like the corpuscles of a living organism, the intricate nework of a coral reef. They cluster together to form the veins of a petal, the scales of a reptile, the intricacies of lace, the dust from the tail of a comet. These, in turn, form the framework of other, increasingly complex, shapes, in which can sometimes been discerned vague glimpses of human or animal shapes, fleeting and subtly disguised, perhaps just the turbulent
“Nature holds beauty, for the artist who has the insight to extract it”
I was amazed and delighted by the way in which the different shapes and images began to flow out from Tomoko’s canvases the first time that I had the opportunity to admire them. I then looked at them close-up and found life hidden within the seemingly random lines and unusual squiggles. Just like dancing a tango on a dance floor with one’s partner, in that pattern of complex moves … I sensed the dancing of the shapes made by the artist who, with pen on canvas, was weaving fairy tales and dreams in many forms. Tomoko is a Japanese artist who expresses herself with ink drawings, acrylic watercolours and mixed techniques. Her technique seems to be a combination of Mandalas or rather of Zendalas.. or even a sort of xylography (engraving) reminiscent of Mokuhanga, a type of drawing that was used to decorate books, announcements, playing cards and of course pictorial prints through popular and religious images, characterised by strong contour lines, by abstract shapes and intricate drawings without depth or volume, sometimes intermingled with Ukiyo “images of the floating world” and tongue-in-cheek suggestions of an alternative transcendence to the world tied to the worldliness of the earth. These are concepts that refer to the Buddhist concept of the illusoriness of the sensory world and the transitory nature of existence. The subjects are drawn from nature and from life but also from her inner world. She is passionate when portraying flowers and animals or when capturing ephemeral movements and feelings. Nature is expressed in a set of symbols, in a forest of hieroglyphics that Tomoko interprets and translates. She is deciphering the secret language of the Universe. Her drawings and shapes are asking the viewers to use their own imaginations and this is a distinguishing feature of all true artists. However, in addition, Tomoko also leaves something unsaid, as in the white spaces in ‘Oltre il tempo’ (Beyond time)’ and ‘La porta del sole’ (The Door of the Sun). This is also shown in the details, where every inch is tightly drawn and you can gaze it for a long time without being able to take in all the tiny features of the figures that appear there. The space that is sometimes left blank, perhaps representing the small quiet corner of her inner cosmos? In her art, the geometric point becomes an invisible entity … a result of the first contact between the tool and the surface of the canvas. If in the material world the point is equates to zero, when it belongs to her language and her artistic writing, then this point become silence … It is like the silence at the end of a sentence: it is the transient or permanent cessation of it, and immediately afterwards it is the new link between one statement and another. A new link that Tomoko creates with a thin line, with a filled or hatched-in circle, with a sky full of signs, with a field adorned geometrically with flowers as in ‘Silenzio’ (Silence), with those colourful birds that are almost always the symbol of rebirth, with optical illusions of movement, like the concentric waves in ‘Quasar’, with the great and magical intertwined sun of “Talmud” that rises at the end of a highway riveted by dreams, with a mosaic of coloured stains in ‘Passegiato nel Spazio’ (Spacewalk) and ‘Creazione e Luce’ (Creation and Light) where order and geometry return with force and where delicate patterns of lines are used to create the shadows and precise, meticulous beard curls, make clear reference to the mind-bogglings. Durer states that, “Nature holds beauty, for the artist who has the insight to extract it.” And Tomoko does it and can do it through an excellent technique and an exciting composition of images, while we are there to imagine it for hours and hours on her canvas and build images through symbols, signs, lines, and infinite points like Penelope stuck at her loom and kidnapped by a time that has no time. Maria Grazia Todaro (QueenArtStudio) Carrousel du Musèe du Louvre – Parie 2014 I was amazed and delighted by the way in which the different shapes and images began to flow out from Tomoko’s canvases the first time that I had the opportunity to admire them. I then looked at them close-up and found life hidden within the seemingly random lines and unusual squiggles. Just like dancing a tango on a dance floor with one’s partner, in that pattern of complex moves … I sensed the dancing of the shapes made by the artist who, with pen on canvas, was weaving fairy tales and dreams in many forms. Tomoko is a Japanese artist who expresses herself with ink drawings, acrylic watercolours and mixed techniques. Her technique seems to be a combination of Mandalas or rather of Zendalas.. or even a sort of xylography (engraving) reminiscent of Mokuhanga, a type of drawing that was used to decorate books, announcements, playing cards and of course pictorial prints through popular and religious images, characterised by strong contour lines, by abstract shapes and intricate drawings without depth or volume, sometimes intermingled with Ukiyo “images of the floating world” and tongue-in-cheek suggestions of an alternative transcendence to the world tied to the worldliness of the earth. These are concepts that refer to the Buddhist concept of the illusoriness of the sensory world and the transitory nature of existence. The subjects are drawn from nature and from life but also from her inner world. She is passionate when portraying flowers and animals or when capturing ephemeral movements and feelings. Nature is expressed in a set of symbols, in a forest of hieroglyphics that Tomoko interprets and translates. She is deciphering the secret language of the Universe. Her drawings and shapes are asking the viewers to use their own imaginations and this is a distinguishing feature of all true artists. However, in addition, Tomoko also leaves something unsaid, as in the white spaces in ‘Oltre il tempo’ (Beyond time)’ and