Artist Kimiko Yoshida was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1963 and left her home country, as a result of feeling the oppression against women. She now lives in Europe and has since 1995. The prolific artist has been transforming herself into various representations of herself and others in several series of self portraits (painting herself and then photographing it) since she began her career. She has turned herself into famous painters, Brides from all over the world, Blown glass letters and symbols and much much more. Over 330 different self-portraits in the last decade.
In one of these books, the great writer Kôbô Abé tells the story of a man who had the face horribly burned in an accident. So he is condemned to live the figure wrapped in bandages. Since his wife has arisen between them a wall of silence that he wants at any price drop. He produces a plastic mask, realistic point of making him another man behind a new face. And he comes gradually to say that he could seduce again his wife as a foreigner.
He succeeded in his business. Or at least, he believes. Because his wife did not she acknowledged she did not guess what was his purpose? Had she not played the game hoping to share a gesture, an act of love? You see, this cruel and fascinating novel poses the eternal problem of identity. What is the real self, and what Does it hide? The mask concealed the old personality or well-established there a new?
Modern version, in his way of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the great artist Kimiko Yoshida exhales its inner and outer beauty for paradoxly remain herself because his personality is so strong.
Her artistic approach, far from being disrupted, despite the eclecticism of choice, these photos add up to be one: A woman, an artist like an open book of his mind. Once exposed in this massive work of Kimiko Yoshida, he is joining us for a long time because it significantly alters our mental projection on various cultural references, Asia, Africa, Art Brut … There was before withouther, there are now later with Kimiko.
A Goddess is with us. A strong spiritual approach as well.
