“Entanglement Hearts Series” represents the invisible “Entanglement” of life and non-life. This is a series that I have been drawing since I was a student. The “heart”, as a symbol of life, is reconstructed and depicted as a model of invisible “entanglement” that interweaves countless forms of life and non-life. Many distinct players make up the “heart” — animals, insects, plants, fungi, viruses, minerals, and man-made objects ― all are with us, surround us, support our lives, and are supported by us.

The stories of “entanglement” with all these players, however, are not always happy. The drawings also tell unhappy stories of sometimes scrambling, sometimes killing each other, and sometimes usurping and stealing from one another. What keeps us alive? What relationships do we have with others? I always reconsider these questions as I draw.

When I'm at the mercy of the ever-changing world, it's easy to forget what's important, but I want to continue drawing this series as a notebook for memories that should not be forgotten. It's like stopping by the roadside on a sunny afternoon and gently reaching for the neglected grass by the roadside.

Born in Tokyo in 1987, Maki Ohkojima was graduated from Joshibi University of Art and Design in 2011. Ohkojima is a multidisciplinary artist expressing herself through painting, mural and video. Her work focuses on the lifecycle and connection between humans, the environment, animals, and spirit – the grand connection of everything physical and energetic. She strives to share the views of many creatures—birds, forest, germs, minerals or monkeys awakening— onto her own inner world and draw the tale of the world from these views. According to Mami Kataoka, curator at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Ohkojima’s works reflect the influence of “premodern techniques, daring on ancient mythology, shamanism, and ritual that is carried on today in diverse cultural areas around the world”. For Okhojima, art is like a device able to show the audience various views and way of thinking.

In 2017 Ohkojima was invited to join the Tara schooner for a residency onboard of one month and a half from Guam to Yokohama. This experience was a unique opportunity to “to know more about climate change and what is happening in the water. All of the ocean, the forest, the creatures – they are all connected and humans are just a part of the larger circulation of the universe”. Her previous work focuses on the life cycle of the forest and now she is moving her focus from land to the ocean – “since it is all connected”.

Ohkojima has also taken part in several artists’ residencies in Poland and Mexico and her work has been exhibited in Japan, China and France.