The things I've held onto deep within my heart
Perhaps it's just that
I myself am clinging to them without letting go.

Things I want to discard but have kept hidden away,
To release the suppressed emotions,
I loosen the lid and listen to the whispers of my heart.

Painting is about liberating my ego
Gathering up dreams and ideas I had given up on
Smashing down fixed ideas and common sense
Letting go of the part of myself that clung to painful memories

Through the paintings I create,
I want you to feel myself

→About Niceka
On January 17, 1995, I was affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

"Everyday life" continued as before, but it felt as if a huge pitfall had suddenly fallen beneath my feet. I went to high school and desperately tried to blend into "everyday life," but as time passed, my sense of powerlessness increased against my will, and the more I became conscious of living, the more lost my heart became.

One day, I happened to find some scrap paper on the table and started dotting all over it with a ballpoint pen, filling the blank space with dots. The act of filling the blank paper with dots, expressing the emotions I had compressed and locked away deep within my heart, the feelings I couldn't put into words, liberated me. And that became the catalyst for me to start painting.

After entering university, I was deeply impacted by an exhibition of paintings by artist Yoshio Nakajima that I happened to visit. I began painting to express my negative emotions. The feelings I poured into my paintings—everyday conflicts, anxieties, rambling speculations—were shocking and not always pleasant, but they were the only thing that healed my wounded heart.

In 2022, I got married and became a mother of two. With my children grown, I resumed painting seriously.

My past self and my current self are completely different in terms of circumstances and feelings, but I've learned that moving forward isn't always the right answer, even if it means getting lost or stopping along the way. I'm not special; everyone has emotions hidden inside that they can't put into words. I want to express those emotions through my art.

My work posted on Instagram has captured the hearts of people all over the world.

→Niceka's Biography
1976: Born in Hyogo Prefecture
January 1995: Affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
March 1995: Graduated from high school, entered higher education / began painting
1997: Had a profound impact on an art exhibition by painter Yoshio Nakajima, which she happened to visit
Began expressing negative emotions through painting
1999: Graduated and started working / stopped painting / turned to music
2007: Married
2008: Gave birth to first child
2010: Gave birth to second child
2022: Resumed painting
March 2022: Participated in "CROSSOVER Vol. 40" held in Paris
December 2022: Created Christmas Visual for SUT gallery
December 2023: Created Christmas Visual for SUT gallery
January 2024: Participated in "CROSSOVER" held in Malaysia Participated in "Vol. 45"
April 2024: NAISKA ART WORK held (Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture)
April 2024: NAISKA ART WORK held (Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture)

https://www.instagram.com/kunie_nagai_/