N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A,
a blog about photography by Sofia Silva
© Yayoi Kusama, Silver Squid Dress, 1968-9 © Yayoi Kusama, Self-Portrait, 1962 © Yayoi Kusama, Horse Play © Yayoi Kusama, Self-Obliteration By Dots, 1968. Photo © Hal Reiff © Yayoi Kusama, photography copyright © Harrie Verstappen “Rather than confirming the ontological coherence of the body-as-presence, body art depends on documentation, confirming-even exacerbating-the supplementarity of the body…
Read More
© Yuki Onodera, Muga Miyahara, Increase, from the series Tokonoma © Yuki Onodera, Muga Miyahara, Fear, from the series Tokonoma “Japan photographer Muga Miyahara’s interpretation of tradition is most noteworthy in his works titled “Tokonoma”. The term refers to a built-in recessed space in a typical Japanese house, usually decorated with a calligraphic or pictorial…
Read More© Yuki Onodera, untitled, from the series Portrait of Second Hand Clothes, 1994 © Yuki Onodera, untitled, from the series Portrait of Second Hand Clothes, 1994 “La série, Portraits de fripes, marque une étape dans le travail de Yuki Onodera. Profondément autobiographique, cette œuvre correspond à son installation à Paris en 1993 où elle photographie…
Read More© Ryoko Suzuki, Untitled, from the project Bind, 2001 © Ryoko Suzuki, Untitled, from the project Masturbation, 1999 “Ryoko Suzuki is a Sapporo-based artist working primarily in photography. Using highly constructed, digital images, Suzuki challenges the assigned gender roles, stereotypes and fetishization of Japanese women. Using at times humourous and at times disturbing juxtapositions of…
Read More© Kunié Sugiura, Body Brush, 2008 © Kunié Sugiura, After “Electric Dress” A Positive 4, 2002 More of Kunié’s work here and here
Read More© Tokihiro Sato, #149, 1992 © Tokihiro Sato, #170 Manji, 1992 © Tokihiro Sato, Yura #339, 2001 “The Photo-Respiration series is Sato’s most well known work. When we approached him with our request for a cover photo, we were delighted to learn that he has been continuing to work on the series up until now,…
Read More© Liverpool Biennial, 2010 “For around 10 hours a day, Sachiko Abe sits on a white mattress on the floor behind long, gauze curtains cutting paper. Curls of paper as thin as wires hang from the ceiling and billow in piles on the ground; it is like an ice palace. Sachiko, a postgraduate at the…
Read More© Toru Nagahama, S for Socks, 2005 © Toru Nagahama, Rose on Rosemary More of Toru’s work here
Read More© David Favrod, Untitled, from the series Gaijin, 2009 © David Favrod, Untitled, from the series Gaijin, 2009 “It is from this feeling of rejection and also from a desire to prove that I am as Japanese as I am Swiss that this work was created. “Gaijin” is a fictional narrative, a tool for my…
Read More© Kimiko Yoshida, Minotaur by Picasso, from the series Painting, self portraits, 2007-09 © Kimiko Yoshida, Laughing girl by Vermeer, from the series Painting, self portraits, 2007-09 More of Kimiko’s work can be seen here
Read More© Hiroko Inoue, Untitled, from the series Inside-Out, 2005 © Iroko Inoue, Untitled, from the series Inside-Out, 2005 “In her photo series Inside-Out, the Japanese artist Hiroko Inoue explores psychical constellations that go beyond the normative process of socially preformulated reality on account of various life experiences. Windows of patients’ rooms in the psychiatric ward…
Read More© Mari Hirata, Heels Hoist #3, from the series Domestic Bliss, 2007 © Mari Hirata, The Pregnant Bride, from the series Domestic Bliss, 2007 “My Photographs talk about the unity of formality and informality. It is the combination of established procedure and order, with the notion of surrealism and visual puns. Progressing forward from the…
Read More
© Izima Kaoru, Igawa Haruka wears Dolce Gabbana, 2003 © Izima Kaoru, Tanja de Jaeger wears Christian Dior, 2002 “Poetic yet disturbing, bloody yet seductive. Since 1993 the Japanese photographer Izima Kaoru has been creating scenes of sophisticated violence and enchanting horror. Landscapes with a Corpse is the title of his project. He invited actresses…
Read More
© Kanako Sasaki, Outcast, from the series Wanderlust, 2003-04 © Kanako Sasaki, leva, Riga, Latvia from the series The World of Groping, 2006 “Kanako Sasaki’s photographs are largely self-portraits. Not only does she pose in her pictures, but the works are also inspired directly from her own childhood memories and imagination. Sasaki’s photos capture the…
Read More
© Hiroyo Kaneko, Untitled #7, from the series Sentimental Education, 2005 © Hiroyo Kaneko, Untitled #2, from the series Sentimental Education, 2005 “I have seen this artist’s work for years and to find this flower from a rich harvest is a surprise. Many say that all essences of an artist can be seen in…
Read More
N I H I L S E N T I M E N T A L G I A, 