Year: 2020
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24.2 x 33.3 cm (9 1/2 x 13 1/8 in.)
Acquired from a private collection, 2022
Imai has several favorite recurring motifs, as seen from the series such as “Toast”, “Avocado”, and “Gathering” etc. “Koala” is also a motif that is repeatedly portrayed. She seems to be depicting a particular stuffed animal every time. The claws of its hands and feet are attached with Velcro, allowing it to hold on to a rod or other objects like a very common toy. It is hard for artists to project special feelings when depicting mundane subjects. To Imai, however, who was born with severely impaired hearing, she relies on her eyes to perceive the world. She probably comprehends more information by observing things than others do. Here depicted a nothing unusual koala stuffed animal with an innocent, silly expression starring forward, makes the viewers wonder what kind of signs Imai was reading and what has touched her. Perhaps due to the light effects, a dark shadow fell right next to its wide-open left eye, and the expression looks slightly tense, as if it was scared. The depiction of the eyes of a stuffed animal indeed conveys a strong gaze with emotions that cannot be expressed in words in this painting.
