KAZARI - Andrea Innocent

The inception for this piece came from a story in a Japanese newspaper in late 2005, detailing the scientific exploits of a sixteen year-old schoolgirl who had been inspired by the film The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995). This film is based on the life of Graham Frederick Young, more commonly known as the "teacup murderer", Mr. Young poisoned members of his own family. The schoolgirl, from Shizuoka Prefecture, had been mixing up poisonous concoctions in her bedroom and had been testing them on unsuspecting rats and cats she had caught. She had begun to detail the experiments in a blog, under a male pseudonym, slowly the posts began to include descriptions of the affects the different poisons were beginning to have on her own mother. Side effects included hallucinations, nettle rash, hair discolouration and problems breathing. Her mother was rushed to hospital by ambulance where her condition deteriorated and she fell into a coma. The girl swallowed some of the poison shortly after but has since recovered and is now undergoing counselling in a juvenile detention centre.

The symbolism found in the work itself relays this story.

The teapot surrounded by fours and a USB cord of steam signifies her obsession with “The Teacup Murderer” and

her resultant blog on the subject, the number four in Japan is seen as a very unlucky number as it is related to death (‘Shinu’ means to die, ‘Shi’ is the number four).

The grey hair through the window – her.
The silver chinese characters in her own hair – the symbol for ‘mother’ in Japanese.
The blue chinese characters floating from her heart – the symbol for poison (doku). The sound ‘doki doki’ also represents someone’s heart as it beats fast.
The small pink bear in her left hand – This character is known as “Gloomy Bear” in Japan, a bear who has blood covered fangs and claws, and is often popular with girls who are alternative and individual in personality.
The textile print found on the kimono is a popular print for children as it is a symbol of their parent’s wishes for their children live long and healthy lives. It depicts a fast growing and sturdy plant, known as the ‘joined hemp leaf’ pattern.