Inland Sea 

Curator: Immediately I feel a sense of starkness, but also surprising peace. It's a high contrast scene rendered almost entirely in black ink. What is it, an ink painting perhaps? Editor: We're looking at “Inland Sea” by Gajin Kosaka, and while the specific date is unknown, it appears to be a linocut or woodblock print. Curator: Yes! That forceful simplicity – cutting away everything unnecessary until just the essential forms are left. It almost looks primal, yet serene. Those boats bobbing on the waves; they seem both vulnerable and stoic. Editor: The boats themselves have been a constant symbol throughout history, carrying multiple meanings depending on the cultural context, they often represent journeys or even life passages. Consider that this "inland sea" represents something more personal for the artist—an interior journey maybe? Curator: I like that thought – it reminds me of the feeling when you’re quietly sailing along, just you and the elements. It can be frightening but also incredibly freeing. The bold, dark lines give a weightiness to something so transient and liquid, and the reductive nature of the medium, especially with the sea motif, has always seemed connected to the purification rituals where things sink to the bottom and are purged. Editor: The geometric quality is also key; It’s a pattern created in that binary of black and white, reminiscent of so many dualities--chaos versus order, presence versus absence. This makes the linocut a powerful medium for reflecting on transitions and personal transformation, given its ties to ink-based contemplative practices. It’s like a visual haiku – pared down, but filled with deep resonances. Curator: Right, everything here carries a silent significance. Gajin Kosaka seems to suggest that to really see, you have to be willing to strip away artifice until only the true forms emerge and those ships point to a truth far below the waves. Editor: Absolutely. We encounter our memories reflected on its dark surfaces; a story that unfolds beneath still waters that also invites the audience into dialogue with both medium and artist. Curator: Yes, precisely. It makes me think of how so much strength lies in simplicity – an echo in the stark strokes that truly lingers with the observer. Editor: It seems as though the artist is prompting the observer to find resonance within stillness; a reflection in its high contrast planes.