Water color of Tomoko FARREL
Standing in front of this work, many emotions have surged from the bottom of my heart. I immediately recognized the scene shown in the painting: a young woman is travelling by train. During the long trip, she looks outside of the window from time to time. The work shows the scenery outside the carriage and the reflection on the window glass.
This work of Tamoko touches me personally. The reason is that the very scenario depicted in the painting is the status that I love the most during a trip. Usually, the purpose of travelling is to get to somewhere specific, then explore or take a break, etc. However, I love the time spent “doing nothing” in a train wagon during the trip. Back in the 90s, I was a little child. My mum and dad are from two provinces very far from one another. When I went visit my mum’s family with my parents, we would spend three days and two nights in an old green train. The notion of time for a child is way less reliable than that of an adult. Thus, it always felt like I spent half of my vacation on the moving train.
From that time on, travelling has become an important part of my life. After high school, I left for Beijing to continue my studies. After that, I left China for Europe. However, taking a trip for me is not about the excitements before the departure, nor the adventures and stories that I live at the destination. Since so many years, when I recall the trips I’ve done before, the first scene that appears in my head is like this: I sat in a train carriage next to the window, surrounded by the regular clunks from wheels hitting the rails and the discussions of other passengers. I looked through the window, gazed upon the sceneries which fell back rapidly.
Humans are strange maybe. Everybody has his or her own preferences. Each time when I’m travelling, my favorite thing is to lean against the window of the carriage, let my thoughts fly freely and enjoy wholly this moment to myself. The work of Tomoko has captured this moment precisely. I never imagined that all those personal emotions could be called upon by such a painting.
