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/