Masayo Keizuka, who lives in Sapporo, makes clay sculptures with an almost magical therapeutic effect: spend a while looking at them and you’ll come away with a deep sense of calm. These crafted figurines all have the same bobbed hair, the same long neck, the same sunken shoulders. Asked who the character is supposed to be, Keizuka readily replies, “It’s me.”
住在日本札幌的雕塑艺术家 経冢真代，她的雕塑作品有种神奇的疗愈作用，看着久一点，可以感受到一股深深的平静力量。这些被捏造出来的小生命看起来是同一个人，鲍伯短发、倾斜的肩膀、长长的脖子，问到她们的身份，经种真代毫不掩饰地回答 “她就是我。”
Keizuka says her earliest inspiration came from a pet dog who passed away ago. Later she moved on to human shapes, and eventually settled on this pensive, delicate little girl who, like an actor, is constantly trying on new costumes and stepping into new storylines. “I pour everything I’m feeling into her. She may not look like she has any emotions, but really I just hide them and try not to let them show,” she explains.
经冢真代说灵感的来源最早是一只已经死去的狗，演变到现在的人形，成为这个若有所思、举止微妙的女孩。她就像演员一样，有不一样的装扮，穿梭在各种情节里。“我习惯把我内心深处各种情绪都交给她。虽然她们看起来没什么情感，其实我只是把情感都藏起来，尽量不去显现出来而已。”
A rough surface gives the figures a worldly or even world-weary air. Keizuka specifically chose this natural, unpolished texture. “I tried out a lot of different materials, but in the end I went with clay. I really like how its grain gives the sculptures the sense of being fully alive,” she says.
表面粗糙的纹路，让女孩多了饱经岁月的沧桑。这种自然、不经修饰的质地是经冢真代特别选择的。“材料一开始我尝试了很多种，最后用黏土，很喜欢它的纹路透露出满满生命感的感觉。”
Perched on each figure’s head is an object or animal that’s whimsical and impossible to ignore. Some of these are random or just for fun, while others are designed for a specific brand or exhibit. Keizuka describes these items as hats, a way of diverting the viewer’s attention. “When I shape these characters, it’s as though I’m putting myself on display in front of a crowd. Sometimes it makes me feel quite vulnerable,” she explains. “I add something to the figure’s head, as if they were wearing a hat. It draws the viewer’s attention away, so they’re not just looking at me at first glance. Maybe I’d rather not have people see through me.”
至于她们头上那些异想天开的物品，实在让人没办法不去注意。这些物品有些没来由，纯粹好玩，有些则是为了配合品牌或展览所设计。这些东西不是没有功用，它们是帽子，某种意义上来说，作为一个分散观者注意力的工具。“我把人物形塑出来，就像是把我自己公开放在众人面前一样，有时候会觉得很没有安全感。所以我把一些东西放去头上，像戴帽子一样，把观众视线先引导到上面，这样第一眼就不会直视我本身。也许我还是不想让人一眼看穿吧。”
