The world of Taiyō Matsumoto

The Original Drawings from TAIYOU

某天收到朋友突然離世的消息,跟她不算相熟,自從我數年前移居日本後,幾乎就沒有聯絡了,然而心裡仍然空了一塊。生離與死別的距離究竟有多遠?所謂的離世,或許只是不存在,不存在於我們身處的空間裡,她在別處,只是這個別處較為遙遠,而且失聯。就在我虛虛恍恍的時候,我遇上了由松本大洋繪畫的繪本《かないくん》(中譯:金井君),內容講述的是一個班裡的同學病逝的故事,以及班上的同學對他的離開似有還無的悲傷。

有些書、有些創作者,總是在最合適的時候走進你的生命。之前也看過松本大洋的漫畫,那時只覺得他的畫風非常精湛而富特色,他的世界觀也特異而精采,然而,直到遇上《金井君》時,我才真真正正他的畫作的感染力。然後,再從看他的作品時,便有著不同的體會。

以《惡童》及《乒乓》等漫畫在海洋聲名大噪的松本大洋,今年已出道30年了,為了慶祝,今年年初出版了自選畫集《TAIYOU》。而在7月25日至29日起,他將於東京的Tobichi舉行原畫展,展出《TAIYOU》收錄的八張原畫。而展覽其間的三天:25日、27日、29日,他更將在會場中舉行Live Painting,參觀者可以在自己手機中,選取一張自己拍攝的、希望在松本大洋的世界裡出現照片,松本大洋將選取其中一些,作為即場創作的參考。那幾天剛巧在東京的朋友,千萬別錯過。

One day, I was told that a friend of mine unexpectedly passed away. She wasn’t exactly a close friend. In fact, we had basically lost touch with each other after I moved to Japan a few years ago. However, I still couldn’t help feeling mournful. What is the real difference between a physical separation, and letting death set people apart? Death is perhaps an obscure concept, it only means that the person no longer exists in the same space as we do. She is being elsewhere, somewhere far away and unreachable. While feeling at lost, I came across Kanai-kun, a picture book illustrated by Taiyō Matsumoto. It is a story about the memory of the classmate who died and the subtle grief surrounding the class.

Some books and some authors just show up in one’s life in the most timely manner. The last time when I read Taiyō Matsumoto’s manga, I simply found his work superbly crafted and strong in style. I was as well impressed by his unique and stunning way of viewing the world. However, it was until I read Kanai-kun that I became aware of the power of his illustrations. Therefore, when I tried to re-read his other works, I had a completely different understanding.

Taiyō Matsumoto has been a manga artist for almost 30 years. His most internationally renowned works include Tekkonkinkreet and Ping Pong. TAIYOU, published earlier this year, is a collection of works chosen by the artist himself to celebrate his 30th anniversary as a manga artist. From 25th until 29th July, 8 pieces of Matsumoto’s original drawing from TAIYOU will be exhibited in the TOBICHI gallery in Tokyo. During the 3 days of exhibition, Matsumoto will be at the venue to draw for visitors. Visitors can pick from their phones a photo that they shot; among the photos provided by the visitors, Matsumoto would pick a few for live improvisational illustration. This is an event not to be missed out if you happen to be in Tokyo.

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