I only followed hikari shimoda's instagram recently and was pleasantly surprised by the sudden livestream of her presenting her work in a gallery in asia. She was talking through her new series with a translator on her side so I could get a sense of what she was talking about. This big piece was partly inspired by the Creation of Adam, and has text such as 'death' 'I want to die' (crossed out), and 'I like you' as well as other various phrases sprawled out across it. All in all, these pieces are about life and death and the balance of it all (the half-skeleton at the back is representative of God looking over). She also incorporated the glow in the dark paint which highlights their faces. It was interesting to see the real process of reporters asking questions to the artist in a gallery setting and how the artist and translator answer them.
It's obvious why I like her art so much - as so many others - the dark underlying meanings through the presentation of the 'cute' and 'pretty'. It is kind of like hearing an upbeat song on the radio when the lyrics are sad. This type of contrast is what I am very drawn to. In the big painting here in particular, I love the graphic, matter-of-fact phrases neatly and not so neatly painted on against the dreamlike reality. The volume of text and small elements such as the sparkles give the audience an overwhelming sense of life's experience, all this noise, which I'm sure could be experienced better looking at the painting in real life.
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| my first time buying a canvas print is of her work! she is famous for her child paintings - which highlight the 'innocence lost' type of meaning that runs through her work. |