Year: 2022
Medium: oil on linen, mounted on wood panel
Dimensions: 182 x 91 cm (71 5/8 x 35 7/8 in.)
Acquired from Void+, 2022
“WAR IS NOT OVER” is boldly painted in large letters. “NOT” is added to the slogan, which apparently comes from the peace movement (carried on throughout the Vietnam War) that Yoko Ono and John Lennon had been campaigning as a message aimed for those who are in the midst of conflict. By coincidence, this work was created during the Ukraine-Russia war and the Covid-19 pandemic, both of which were major battles that had growled fiercely. Mitobe often depicts motifs of powerful messages shared by famous musicians or celebrities with distinctive social status in her works, oftentimes consciously raising issues regarding social awareness. To Mitobe, by depicting the world for those who have no control of their true feelings, she brings reality closer to the viewers and into tangible reach. Her techniques of smearing the paint with hands not only is to pursue a particular style of painting, but Mitobe obviously has the desire to be physically attached to the medium of painting.