Photo: ©Claire Dorn. Image courtesy of Perrotin.
©2017 Aya Takano/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
If asked , Aya Takano defines herself as "a professional artist, with a career spanning more than 20 years and exhibitions all over the world, notably in Japan, where she was born and still lives, in France and in the United States."
All women have fought a battle at one time or another. What was yours?
I'm still struggling to escape the forces of immobility. I try to continue seeking change and pleasure, the desire for freedom and a childlike curiosity.
When do you feel you are showing strength?
I strongly protest when anyone tries to deprive me of my freedom of mind or threatens the weak or Nature.
In turn made of shadows and light, such are women, echoing the moon that governs us.
What is your light side, what is your dark side?
It's true. Like yin and yang, I believe that both light and dark are necessary to keep the world turning and nurturing life. Of course, I'm made of both, even though I try to stay on the light side.
Express your most important conviction, the one that guides your steps in life.
“Follow your bliss,” said mythologist Joseph Campbell. Examining myths from around the world, he concluded that following your bliss was like setting out on the path you were meant to follow. That what you're living is exactly the life you're meant to live. I really like that idea, and I think I fully understand it.
Mind upload. It marks the starting point for the story of our heroine ALYH, who uploads her mind into a universe in which she evolves and surpasses herself. What skills would you develop if this adventure were offered to you?
I want to develop the five senses to a level where they could pass for supernatural powers. Perhaps human beings were more sensitive to them when they confronted the world with their bodies and without external machines. Perhaps they all had better taste, a finer sense of smell, and clearer vision. And that mysterious sixth sense that we have all experienced at least once in our lives, even if its existence remains vague. I want to strengthen this sense too, if possible.
What if you had a magic wand? How would you redefine our future, yours? Would you use it?
I would use it to transform the city into a forest and revive the ancestral wisdom of living there.
Never give up… What would you say to your best friend as a child?
As I said before, always follow your bliss.
The best:
“ Feeling the sunlight is delight .”
