[2019] Fantasy on Ice

[yuzurujenn]

Articles/interviews related to Fantasy on Ice 2019:

Makuhari (May 24th - 26th)

Sendai (May 31 - June 2)

Kobe (June 7-9)

Toyama (June 14-16)

 

Info: https://www.fantasy-on-ice.com/

[yuzurujenn]

*Machine translation. Inaccuracies exist*

 

 

2019.09.15

 

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jp/ryosukekamba/toshl1

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20190915101216/https://www.buzzfeed.com/jp/ryosukekamba/toshl1

 

The Passionate Reason Why Ryugen Toshl Says, “I Want to Get Enter the Inner World of Yuzuru Hanyu”

 

Ryugen Toshl has launched his very first art exhibition, "Masquerade Exhibition." Reflecting on his collaboration with figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu at Fantasy on Ice 2019, Toshl revealed that the experience served as a major source of inspiration for his creative work.

 

Spoiler

Musician Ryugen Toshl (Toshl) has launched his first-ever art exhibition, "Masquerade Exhibition," at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo. After its run through September 9, the exhibition is scheduled to travel to Nagano and Osaka. Why did he take up painting, despite saying things like “I have no background in art” and “I was never good at the fine arts”? What creative spark did he draw from his collaboration with Yuzuru Hanyu during Fantasy on Ice 2019, held in May and June?

 

Turning Music into Art

 

— Why did you decide to start painting now?

I started thinking, What else can I do besides music? When I considered new ways of expressing myself, painting was the first thing that came to mind.

I’ve always admired people like Takeshi Kitano, who takes on all kinds of challenges — painting, filmmaking, and more — and makes them his own. I thought that was really inspiring. But I don’t have any formal training in painting, and I’ve never been especially good at the visual arts. So I asked myself: What kind of painting could I actually do? Since I’m a musician, I thought it might be interesting to try translating my singing voice or my music into visual art. Maybe — just maybe — it’s a genre that only I could create. That was the starting point that made me want to pick up the brush.

 

A Monumental Work

 

— How long did the creative process take?

I started painting about a year ago. I’m not a professional artist, and I didn’t even know if what I was making was something worth showing to others. So I just began by experimenting and doing test sketches. I told myself, Don’t overthink it. Just give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, that’s fine. I’m not supposed to be good at this anyway. If I mess up, I can just paint over it. There wasn’t any strict deadline either. Once I started with that relaxed mindset… I totally fell in love with it.

 

— True to the title of the "Masquerade Exhibition," your large-scale work “Masquerade,” which measures over 2.5 meters tall and 8 meters wide, takes center stage.

The piece is based on my song “Masquerade,” and many of the paintings explore a world of reds and blacks. I call the palette “Masquerade Red.” There are probably more than 10 shades of red alone. Since there are also gradations, I can’t say exactly how many, but… There’s passionate red, gentle red, an embracing red, a burning red… Each section has its own meaning, so I put all my emotions into every brushstroke, based on the feelings each color evoked in me.

 

Entering Toshi-san's inner world to perform

 

— Your collaboration with Yuzuru Hanyu at Fantasy on Ice 2019, where you performed “Masquerade” live while he skated, drew a lot of attention.

When Hanyu skated to my song “Masquerade,” he spoke passionately in an interview afterward, saying, “I performed as if I had entered inside the inner world of Toshl-san.” So I thought, Well then, I’ve got to “enter back” in return. With that same energy, I painted with the mindset of entering into Yuzuru Hanyu's world himself. Hanyu was absolutely incredible. It was a dance of the soul. With every performance, he evolved more and more, each time. Originally, the painting was made up of eight canvases. But as I kept rewatching videos of Hanyu’s skating, it started to feel like that wasn’t enough. So in the end, I added two more canvases to complete it.

 

Captivated by Yuzuru Hanyu

 

— Did Hanyu say anything about the painting?

When I had the chance to talk with Hanyu around June, I told him backstage, “Actually, I’m painting something based on ‘Masquerade.’ I was deeply inspired by your performance, and I want to express that feeling directly through my art.” He responded, “There’s nothing more rewarding than being able to inspire Toshl-san. I’m really looking forward to it.” Hearing that gave me a huge boost of motivation, and from there, the creative process just took off.

 

— What was it like to witness Hanyu’s performance up close?

Honestly, words can’t do it justice. It was just overwhelming. You rarely encounter someone like that. He pours his entire soul and being into every movement, almost like he's sacrificing part of himself. And that truly comes across. That’s exactly why he’s Yuzuru Hanyu. There’s something extraordinary about him that’s just not normal — he gives off this intense aura. And I got to watch it all from the very best seat in the house, every single time. But if I looked too closely, I’d start crying, so I tried not to watch too much. I had to focus on my singing — staying on pitch, keeping the rhythm. Hanyu is extremely particular about expression, so I kept telling myself: “Focus on the song, focus on the song…” so that he could skate freely and comfortably.

 

“Don’t look!” — and then, tears anyway.

 

— So you were holding yourself back from watching closely, huh? (laughs)

Yes, I kept thinking, “I can’t look! I can’t look!” (laughs) But at the final performance in Toyama, I just couldn’t resist. I really wanted to see it. And then, amazingly, he performed facing me. Normally, he would skate away in the other direction, but this time, he came toward me, and it felt like every angle and movement was directed at me.

 

— How extravagant!

At the end, he surprised me by changing it up like that. I couldn’t stop crying. There were so many tears collecting between my sunglasses and my cheeks. His spirit is so graceful and classy. I also performed a song called “Crystal Memories.” He said to me, “Toshl-san is the master, and I’m the warrior. At the end, I’ll raise my sword of victory high and dedicate it to you. Please accept it.” He said things like that during rehearsal. Just hearing those words moved me so much. It was truly an intense, creative month. That passion is what also fueled my drive to paint this piece. I was deeply influenced by it.

 

Mask or no mask?

 

— The piece “艶” is inspired by Hanyu.

I really wanted to paint one piece centered around Yuzuru Hanyu. There’s a pose in the choreography of “Masquerade” where he wears a mask, and that’s my favorite part, so I chose to depict that. The question is whether to live with a mask on or to live without one. Or perhaps both sides are part of Yuzuru Hanyu himself. We talked about these themes in our conversation, and I wanted to express his intense way of life, his struggles, and his resolve through the painting. But I thought it might be better not to make the facial expression too realistic, so I later added shadows to the face.

 

It’s okay to have both sides of yourself.

 

— Do you feel that you’ve removed your "mask" now?

There are times when I wear a mask, and there are times when I take it off. I think it’s okay to have both sides of myself. There are times when I want to take it off, and times when I can’t. Living completely truthfully — being my true self all the time — is still difficult for me right now. However, I’ve definitely become able to live more honestly. I’ve started to express myself more and try new things. For example, I’ve been able to challenge myself in art. If the old me could see me now, I think he’d be amazed. It’s been a journey of constantly challenging myself to discover new possibilities, and I feel very fortunate.

 

Casual, but serious

 

In the most memorable scene of “Masquerade” performed by Hanyu, at the very end, he slams a glove, symbolizing a mask, onto the ice, breaking it with all his strength. But after the performance, as he exits the rink and heads back to the backstage area, he strikes a pose as if putting the mask back on before disappearing behind the curtain. When I saw that scene, I was so moved that I got goosebumps.

 

As humans, we all have our facades and our true feelings to some extent. But I want to dare to expose all of that — to show that this is who I am, with all of it included.

 

I approach it all with ease, but also with sincerity. There’s a sense of joy and happiness in being able to challenge myself. That’s why I’m so glad I started painting.

 

The “Masquerade Exhibition” has concluded its showing at the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo and will be held next at the Kitano Cultural Center in Nagano from September 22 to October 6, and at the Knowledge Capital in Grand Front Osaka from October 26 to November 17. In terms of his musical activities, Toshl is currently recording the second volume of his cover album “IM A SINGER.”