![]() ![]() Whether in self-portraits or portraits of celebrities like Chiaki Kuriyama or Beyoncé, the artist is a master of staging and codes, be they commercial or cultural, contemporary or traditional, all are manipulated. Regardless of the subjects examined in her photographs, Mika Ninagawa imposes her genre, her style, a signature. In 2020, she filmed the series Followers which was released on Netflix. Outside of her photographic work, which has now been recognised by the most important institutions around the world, and her collaborations with the luxury sector, notably with Van Cleef & Arpels, Mika Ninagawa is also a significant figure in cinema. In 2001, she received the prestigious Ihei Kimura Award. This location suited her well, because her multifaceted body of work has an identity as strong as that of the Paris-based concept store.īorn in Tokyo in 1972 into a creative environment, to an actress mother and a theatre director father -the famous Yukio Ninagawa- the artist was at the heart of the 1990s movement known as onnanoko shashinka or ‘girlie photography’, capturing the art of living of young Japanese women. Nearest station: Kitashinagawa.In 1997, the work of photographer and director Mika Ninagawa was presented outside of Japan for the first time, namely at Colette in Paris. But these themes and dichotomies are buried deep in her work, like the poison or medicine of a sugar-coated pill. In essence, Ninagawa’s work explores the balance between beauty and strength, color and shape, femininity and masculinity and between the ability to approach reality directly or through various filters of perversion. “Its lifespan is shortened as it becomes more susceptible to bacterial infection.” “By compounding deformity with deformity, it becomes more interesting as a shape, but weaker as a life form,” she explains. Ninagawa is drawn to these creatures because they have been reshaped solely for the purpose of human appreciation. This sense of darkness that lies just under the surface also explains her obsession with goldfish, which feature prominently in a video installation. On the contrary, they look as if they are calling for help or are frightened by the much-too-bright light.” “Losing one’s sense of ego while dancing to explosive music is a very primitive act, but do they look like they are having fun and are in a state of euphoria?” Ninagawa asks. With the festival goers, she makes a point of highlighting their hands thrown up in the air as if in distress. In these deceptively soft images, as lush and enticing as anything shot for a magazine spread, we encounter Ninagawa’s hard-edged cynicism. Supplementing her usual trademarks-flowers, goldfish, parted lips-are also images of stuffed animals and people at a musical festival. As a subtle touch, the curators have decorated the gallery here with the chess-board pattern of Ninagawa’s bathroom, the backdrop of some of them.īut while this part of the exhibition has an element of guilty voyeurism about it, the most effective and artistic part of the show is the large downstairs gallery, featuring a collage of colorful images. They also suggest that she uses photography as a way of coming to terms with her emotions. Several of these, including some of an “intimate” nature, hint at the emotional turmoil of the thrice-divorced 49-year-old. ![]() This is signalled by the fact that the section of the show dedicated to these is the only part that eschews her trademark “Ninagawa color,” using bleaker, starker monochrome instead. ![]() But Ninagawa’s “selfies” are hardly a vanity project. The show’s title, “Mika Ninagawa: Self Image,” might lead one to expect a narcissistic focus-and, in a sense, it is. But side-by-side with her commercial work, she also maintains a serious “art” career, with themed photo books and exhibitions, like the one at the Hara Museum of Art, which explore the medium of photography in more profound ways. The daughter of famed theater director Yukio Ninagawa, she’s also very much part of the Japanese cultural elite, and much in demand for portraits, advertisements, and magazine shoots. (Copyright Mika Ninagawa, Courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery)
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