Vignette

Nohana Sayama

Summary
Final work

A Japanese watercolour painter. (b.2003, Osaka)

Grew up as part of an expatriate family, and spent her youth in Japan, Singapore and India. As a passionate traveller, she resonates with multiple cultures but feels alienated from all at the same time. Her longing for belonging reflects in her theme, 'Vignette', as a forever-continuous narrative of locations Nohana has inhabited and left. They are moments, in other words snapshots, of places where she was once recognised for her existence by the space.

Learned how to paint through oil paint, and steered to watercolour from her second year of undergraduate studies at Camberwell College of Arts. Still young in the long path of mastering the medium, in her practice she experiments with various techniques such as layering and colours.

The characters which she portrays in her works have no name. They are inspired by Jizo statues of Japan, which can be seen in their common objective to recognise and guard any people/travellers who come upon their path.

A Japanese watercolour painter. (b.2003, Osaka)

Grew up as part of an exp...

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My theme, 'vignette', originates from yearning for belonging, a final resting place. With my upbringing as an expatriate living in countries such as Singapore, India and Japan, I had the rare opportunity to engage with diverse cultures, which nurtured my love for travel and learning perspectives. However, it also forced countless goodbyes that shaped my identity. I began to conceptualise each location I inhabited as an anti-chamber. The bittersweet nature of memories weighed heavily on me—places and faces fade from my memory, and to answer, I fade from theirs. In this globalising, expanding world, the individual feels much smaller, and their existence feels more fragile.

My theme answers this fading feeling that you and I did exist. Each work is a snapshot, a diary entry from the lifelong search for a final resting place. The scenes portrayed are intimate views of memorable locations chosen for their impact on my desire for enduring remembrance within those spaces. In my works, I portray places I have visited with companions (statues inspired by Jizo and Dosojin statues traditionally placed along roadways in Japan as protectors of the neighbourhood and any travellers to pass) in the space, watching me and silently witnessing my existence and that of the viewer.