Biography of Ume

During the winter months, when I do not see any flowers in the city, it is as if I have forgotten that flowers exist. Sometimes, some time after the flowers have disappeared from the world, I suddenly spot a red bud on a branch poking out from the eaves of a house. It is a time when I have become accustomed to winter and have grown too accustomed to it. I am red! I think. Red! That is the ”ume" blossom. Many people think of cherry blossoms when they think of spring flowers, but my favorite spring flower is the ume blossom. It is a wonderful flower that reminds me that there are flowers in the world and that spring is coming.
　Ume blossoms are forgotten by the time the cherry blossoms bloom. I was born into this world on April 5, right on the border of when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom or not. I am born every year with the news that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. But the plum blossoms are history. They are history and predecessors who built the world before I was born. When I am born again toward spring, I want to cherish the past. With this in mind, I created this work, wondering if I could paint the ume blossoms.
　When I was making this, I felt like I was making sweets. It was a new sensation for me. The sensation of taking something that is commonplace in everyday life and cooking it in my own way was exactly like making sweets. I don't think sweets are noble. But I think they are something a little special. Above all, when sweets are placed in front of you, they bring forth a calm joy that cannot be contained from the bottom of one's heart. If there were many colors of such joy, if there were various kinds of sweets, I am sure we would be happy. This is a ume sweet. Please try it. I believe that these will become our cells and our past.

ume = 梅
　This time, I put words to the color palette and shapes. It is not a universal language, but it is a special sound for me. If you want to know the meaning of the words, please ask me on twitter : @shirasu_nejio. However, I don't think that meaning is necessarily essential.