The surface label is a social symbol that signifies value, trust, and authenticity.

But once it is peeled away, the word “invalid” appears.
Whether one chooses to reveal that invalidity, preserve authenticity, or allow it to peel away naturally—each path has its limits.

Even paintings, once symbols of artistic expression, have now become icons of the economic system, and the act of viewing has turned into a high-priced commodity.

In a world where everything is merely temporarily possessed, we are still pressured to own manufactured value.
We ourselves are expected to be “authentic.”
Our skin, like a label, suffocates within the framework of value.

And yet, if the “invalid” we arrive at has come through struggle, not illusion, then perhaps that is exactly where human vitality and beauty reside.

表面のラベルは、価値や信頼、本物を示す社会的な記号である

しかし、ひとたびそれを剥がせば「無効」という文字が現れる。無効を見せるか、本物を保つか、あるいは自然に剥がれるか。そのいずれにも限りがある

芸術の象徴でもある絵画も、今や経済システムのアイコンとなり、鑑賞は高額な商品へと変わった

すべてが仮所有にすぎない世の中でも、つくられた価値の所有を迫られ、私たちも「本物」であることを求められている。その皮膚は、ラベルのように価値の中で息づまっていく

それでも記号に惑わされず、もがいてできた「無効」ならば、きっとそれこそが、人の生きる力であり、美しさなのだろう

Category: Painting
Medium: Canvas, Genuine Painting, Mixed Media
Dimensions listed individually
Collection: Private Collection
Year: 2025

Photography: Yudai Nakaya