Illustrators Ogawa Keiko and Saito Keisuke's installation "Melting Dreams" is on view until August 26th at the Isetan Girl Gallery on the second floor of the Isetan Shinjuku store.

The theme of this installation, "Melting Dreams," is inspired by the image of a "dreamlike world that melts in the summer heat." Ogawa explains that the undulating patterns in happy hues like pink, orange, and yellow "evoke the image of telepathy. I hope to convey the thoughts in my head directly to others."

The three main pink paintings are the same artwork that was featured on the cover of the novel "Saint-Exupéry on the Swing" (by Kodama Izuki, published by Kadokawa Shoten), published in March of this year. The booklet-like canvas work titled "I LIKE" is a deliberate attempt to depict only undulating patterns, rather than focusing on people. Ogawa and Keisuke Saito, the artist with whom she is collaborating this time, met through social media during their university days and developed a mutual respect for each other's work online. They continued their long-distance collaboration, packaging and sending each other's artwork back and forth between Tokyo and Yamagata, and in February 2011 held a two-person exhibition, "Kiss (KKIS)," at the AMP cafe in Koenji, Tokyo. This will be their first two-person exhibition in two years. "Saito is a very proactive person. He personally delivers his artwork to musicians around the country to collaborate with them, creates welcome boards to approach foreign artists when they visit Japan, and plans his own events. We get along well because we're both from rural areas." The exhibition space will also feature merchandise designed by Ogawa, including tights, leggings, caps, earrings, barrettes, hair ties, and brooches. "I make things I wanted when I was in high school, so I set the prices so that even high school students can afford them," she explained. Regarding the brand's name, she said, "I thought it sounded good. I chose it because I wanted to create things with a positive image." She explained that she became a fan of Maijo Otaro's novel "Suki Suki Daisuki Cho Aishiteru" after reading the book after naming it. Going forward, she said, "I'd like to expand the range of patterns and develop textile goods." Ogawa, a native of Kumamoto Prefecture, graduated from the Film and Media Department of Tokyo Zokei University in 2006. During her student days, she created hand-drawn stop-motion animations. She began working as an illustrator in 2007, focusing primarily on acrylic painting and digital production. She began designing textiles around 2011, and in 2012 began creating tights and other goods under the name "Suki Suki Daisuki."