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The Life of
Mari Katayama
It was Katayama herself who said, “I want a prosthetic leg,” when she was a child. I want to wear shoes like everybody else and play like everybody else. Her desire to be like everybody else, to close the gap between herself and others, all of this was stronger than her fear of the surgery. However, even with prosthetic legs, her struggles weren’t over. As her young, growing body continued to change rapidly, the prosthetic legs that once fit her would soon cause pain. She commuted regularly from Gunma to her prosthetist in Tokyo for adjustments. She met a prosthetist with excellent skills and was able to do more with her prosthetic legs, but she still felt she couldn’t attain her goal of being the same as everybody else. And the way that people looked at her didn’t change. I hate prosthetics! These were the most personal tools in her life, and yet she didn’t trust them or feel any attachment to them. Instead what she felt was aversion. The young Katayama turned inward and immersed herself in the creative activities that she loved.
Once she was in high school, Katayama met many artists on social media, and though
still a student, she expanded the scope of her creative activities. It was around
this time that she started drawing on her prosthetic legs. Conveying her desire to
“keep her feet on the ground,” she drew tattoo-like pictures of plants rooted in
the earth. She describes it as an expression of physicality as she recalls her
feelings at the time, saying, “I think I wanted to love my prosthetic legs.”
Though they constantly caused her pain, they were also the closest tools she had
and she needed them to walk.
I would need them for the rest of my life. If only I could love them, even a
little…
These were the thoughts that prompted her to draw.
And then, one of Katayama’s pieces caught people’s attention, winning the
Encouragement Prize at the Gunma Biennale for Young Artists. She took an entrance
exam and was accepted at Gunma Prefectural Women’s University, where she studied
in the Department of Aesthetics and Art History, Faculty of Literature.
”identity, body it. -curated by Takashi Azumaya- Installation
view at nca |
nichido contemporary art, 2010
Seeing Herself as an Artist
Seeing Herself as an Artist
In grad school, Katayama participated in an exhibition and sold her first piece.
“It was when I was talking to the person who bought my art that I realized I
have a responsibility to the people who spend money on my work to call myself an
artist.” It was at that moment that she became aware herself as an artist, and
her path in life began to take shape.
Around this time, Katayama began singing in jazz bars to earn her tuition and
living expenses. She speaks of the joy of earning money by doing what she loved
and earning it through her own efforts. But then one night, something happened.
”identity, body it. -curated by Takashi Azumaya- Installation view at nca | nichido contemporary art, 2010
While searching for answers, she met and talked with people in the same situation, facing the same struggle and feeling that they weren’t free to enjoy fashion. Going out in clothes that you like, clothes that are comfortable, clothes that you choose to wear — it’s a way to connect with society. Is fashion a luxury item? Are people with disabilities not allowed to enjoy it? Her feelings were growing even stronger. “As I talked with people facing similar struggles, I felt that I might be able to help making everyone’s life easier by wearing high heels myself.” So Katayama started walking down the street in high heels, singing on stage in high heels. And this was the beginning of the HIGH HEEL PROJECT.
I’m wearing little high heels, 2011 ©Mari Katayama
[L to R]
25 days in tatsumachi studio / Atsumi Records #002, 2015
©Mari
Katayama
high heels, 2012 ©Mari Katayama
30 days in tatsumachi studio, 2015 ©Mari Katayama
Raising a Child,
Creating Art,
and
Battling Loneliness
As she continued her career as an artist, Katayama got married and had a child. People were skeptical about her giving birth. She realized, “No one is going to help me. I’m on my own with this, just me and my family.” As these thoughts grew stronger, Katayama became lonelier and lonelier.
Partnership for
a Big Step Forward
In January 2022, Katayama set out to restart her HIGH HEEL PROJECT. At the same time, she was on the hunt for a new prosthetic leg that would expand the possibilities for her activities. What she came across was the ALLUX 2, a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint. The encounter with ALLUX 2 and Nabtesco brought significant changes to her life and her artistic activities. She was finally freed from the fear of knee buckle. Walking became enjoyable, and she even came to call the prosthetics that she had hated so much, her “partner.” And Nabtesco, too, completely on board with the concept of her HIGH HEEL PROJECT and the purpose behind it, signed on as a sponsor in September 2022. The Mari Katayama and Nabtesco collaboration — a big step toward “freedom of choice” and “freedom to pursue ideals.”
