Charlotte Brisland

2005 Kamiyama Artist in Residence Participant
In Kamiyama from September 16 to November 30, 2005

Born in Portsmouth on the south coast of the UK. She studied for her masters in painting at the Royal College of Art in London. Brisland has taken part in a number of group shows within the UK. She has gone international taking part in a group show in Geneva, Switzerland. Charlotte Brisland is a young emerging contemporary artist at the start of her professional career. On October 14th, she presented a workshop at Jinryo primary school as an open class for the 54th National Convention on rural education, which was hailed as a great success.(→ Charlotte Brisland website)

At the former Orono Daycare

Artist Report

Charlotte Brisland “De Stijl Landscape [Japan]” 120×150cm (oil, canvas)

Britain is a leading country which sets a novel painting trend in the international stage. Fresh from graduate school, British-born Brisland has developed her original artistic vision and sense against the backdrop of this dominant current of the day. There are no figures in her landscape paintings. The view captured through her mind's eyes is described as an uncanny landscape with physical presence. Overlapping memories make a psychological impact on viewers, awakening the thrilling images and stories in them. Young as she is, she is a promising artist who has established her own technique and view of the world.
Charlotte Brisland

At 1:30am I woke up thinking it was 4 in the afternoon, i ncredibly jet lagged and curious about my surroundings. I went for a walk and ended up by the river. That night was close to a full moon and the light created an atmosphere that inspired my first painting. Silence and dramatic light changes are a large part of Kamiyama's strange and unique atmosphere. As I got working in the studio I felt very quickly the kindness of this community. So many people brought the artists gifts of fresh bread, cakes, and even socks when the cold weather set in. Being that everyone making this residency possible are volunteers makes these little acts so much more generous. As the residency went into full gear I felt the challenges kick in. I gave my first ever workshop in front of a live televised audience and it seemed there was very little time to make work for the show. Preparing for the workshop involved meetings with teachers through translators and cultural barriers, we often misunderstood each other. Finally came the big day and I couldn't have been more nervous. By the end I felt an enormous sense of achievement. I also wondered how people could have trusted me with such responsibility. That was the biggest thing for me, here for the first time I was given a chance to really find out what I could achieve. That could never have been possible without the belief and encouragement of the people at KAIR.