孩童眼中的人性掙扎，下田光的童話式寓言 A Fairy Tale Allegory：Hikari Shimoda

Hikari Shimoda 下田光，是我近幾年超喜歡的藝術家之一，她的創作歷程並非來自學院派的嚴格訓練，而是源於對漫畫和動畫的純粹熱愛。在她的創作中，那些擁有星光閃爍般的雙眼、身穿超級英雄裝的中性孩童，並非僅是視覺符號，而是她情感的真實載體，它們承載著失自我感的感受，反映著性別認同的掙扎，更訴說著對理解與愛的渴望。

Hikari Shimoda is one of my most beloved artists in recent years. Her artistic journey did not originate from strict academic training, but rather from a pure love of manga and anime. In her works, those androgynous children with star-twinkling eyes and superhero costumes are not merely visual symbols, but authentic vessels of her emotions. They carry feelings of lost selfhood, reflect struggles with gender identity, and speak of a yearning for understanding and love.

Hikari Shimoda | One Day, 2020 | 壓克力 報紙 帆布 | 13.1" x 13.1"

Hikari Shimoda | Children Living in Transparent Darkness #1, 2019 | 壓克力 帆布 | 10.8" x 8.6"

糖果色下的暗流 Dark Currents Beneath Candy Colors

在她的畫布上，明亮的糖果色與深沉的主題形成鮮明對比。這些炫眼且魔幻的孩童形是她探討當代社會議題的媒介，以柔和且富有詩意的方式揭示著人性的掙扎。「那些空虛的孩子是我的情感之杯」，下田光在接受其他媒體採房是這樣此描述她的作品，「他們用閃閃發光的眼睛凝視著空間，同時反射著光明和黑暗，而那些眼神隱喻著無言情感，例如憤怒和絕望，其實就是人們對這個世界面對不公或不合理事情的感受。」

On her canvas, bright candy colors create a striking contrast with profound themes. These dazzling and magical child figures serve as her medium for exploring contemporary social issues, revealing human struggles in a gentle and poetic way. "Those empty children are vessels for my emotions," Shimoda explained in a media interview, "Their glittering eyes gaze into space, reflecting both light and darkness. Those gazes metaphorically express unspoken emotions like anger and despair, which represent people's feelings when facing injustice and absurdity in this world."

Hikari Shimoda | Tamukeru #1, 2019 | 壓克力 帆布 | 20.9" x 17.9" cm

下田光的創作也跨越平面，她將標誌性的視覺語言，延伸至立體作品。除了上述看到的那些孩童們，最引人注目的是她另一條支線角色延伸出的「Amitābha」系列雕塑，以高達160公分，1:1真人比例呈現。這些玻璃鋼雕塑作品保留了她一貫的糖果色調，在空間中創造出更直接的視覺衝擊，邀請觀眾思考生命、死亡，以及人與環境的關係。

Hikari Shimoda's creative work extends beyond two-dimensional forms, as she translates her signature visual language into sculptural pieces. Beyond the aforementioned children, most notable is her "Amitābha" sculpture series, developed from another line of characters and presented in life-size scale at 160 centimeters tall. These fiberglass sculptures maintain her characteristic candy-colored palette, creating a more immediate visual impact in space, inviting viewers to contemplate life, death, and humanity's relationship with the environment.

Unique “Amitābha” Lifesize Sculpture by Hikari Shimoda

Hikari Shimoda | Lonely Hero And OBAKE, 2019 | 合成樹脂 | 20.5 × 29.5 × 12 cm

在下田光創造的世界裡，幻想與現實相遇，過去與未來交會，生與死並存。透過精心的筆觸、文字和拼貼的並置，她將對現代社會的觀察轉化為視覺敘事。這些角色不僅探索了我們與「救世主」概念的複雜關係，從宗教神明到流行文化中的英雄崇拜，更反映出人們在面對現實困境時的心理寄託。

In Hikari Shimoda's created world, fantasy meets reality, past converges with future, and life coexists with death. Through meticulous brushwork, text, and juxtaposed collages, she transforms her observations of modern society into visual narratives. These characters not only explore our complex relationship with the concept of "saviors" - from religious deities to hero worship in popular culture - but also reflect people's psychological attachments when facing real-world predicaments.

看似童話，實則人生 Life Masquerading as Fairy Tales

「即便無法與任何事物連結，留下的個人痕跡終將成為歷史」，下田光如此表示。她的創作提出了一個深刻的命題：在這個充滿不確定性的時代，烏托邦的夢想是否只是一場虛幻的泡影？然而，正是通過這些看似矛盾的元素的糅合——純真與黑暗、希望與絕望，她的作品展現出一種獨特的平衡與張力，讓觀眾在童話般的外表下，發現關於人性與存在的深刻思考。

"Even if we cannot connect with anything, the personal traces we leave behind will eventually become history," Hikari Shimoda states. Her work poses a profound question: in this age of uncertainty, are utopian dreams merely illusory bubbles? Yet, it is through the fusion of seemingly contradictory elements - innocence and darkness, hope and despair - that her works achieve a unique balance and tension, allowing viewers to discover deep contemplations about human nature and existence beneath their fairy tale-like appearances.

她的作品不僅是自己個人情感的投射，更像是當代社會的一面鏡子。通過巧妙運用色彩、構圖和象徵符號，下田光創造出一個獨特的視覺世界，在這個世界裡，每個角色都在訴說著一個關於存在、認同和希望的故事。

Her works are not merely projections of personal emotions, but rather serve as a mirror of contemporary society. Through her skillful use of color, composition, and symbolic elements, Shimoda creates a unique visual world where each character tells a story about existence, identity, and hope.

Hikari Shimoda| Untitled, 2018 | 油畫 | 13" x 13"

Hikari Shimoda | Evolution of the Arbitrator, 2018 | 複合媒材 | 44.1" x 57.3"