About the paintings of GOMA

GOMA suddenly took up painting following a traffic accident. The sights he beholds during periods of unconsciousness due to aftereffects of the accident are the subjects that he paints. The paintings first begin from a space of only light, surrounded by white light-emitting bodies. GOMA says that he feels no feelings at this time, neither fear nor feelings of joy or happiness. The light-emitting bodies gradually take on color, upon which GOMA feels a merging of brain and body, and consciousness returns. How color manifests differs every time, he says. While he expresses scenery on the plane of a painting, this in fact has depth, and GOMA experiences a sense akin to being transported through a fluid. He reports that when regaining consciousness, he feels as if he has collapsed again and undertook a trip.

Collapsing and regaining consciousness dozens of times after the accident, GOMA came to feel that what he was glimpsing was “some place between life and death.” According to researchers in the field of near-death experiences, people undergoing these experiences sometimes report seeing visions similar to GOMA’s paintings.

Regarding his music-related activities, GOMA had felt conflicted over the fact that pieces take time to memorize and cannot be performed without repeated practice. Now, though, he says, “I can play the didgeridoo with more ease. It refreshes me, which provides energy for painting.” GOMA feels that music connects his past and present selves to each other and to the future.
The music playing in this solo exhibit is all new. GOMA has played his own music in past solo exhibits, but this marks his first time writing a piece for a solo exhibit. He has also newly tried his hand at pottery, which he says he took up out of a wish to create things usable in everyday living.

“Making the unseen visible may be my role,” says GOMA. The light that we all have at our roots, and that we are slated to meet with eventually, is what he depicts.