Seattle-based Japanese artist Yumiko Kayukawa is currently showing new works at The Shooting Gallery in San Francisco. By mixing pop culture references with more traditional Japanese imagery, the artist takes us on a strange and mysterious journey. Watch as her brave heroine becomes surrounded by an entourage of wild animals including bears, wolves, bunnies and deer.
From the press release: “An amalgamation of cultural references such as the animist aspects of Shinto and Japanesefolklore, the tones and pallet of Ukiyo-e, the defined lines of Manga, and the topical content of Anime. Nostalgia for Japanese culture is further explored in a piece entitled New World (immediately below), where a girl stands at the ruins of a post-apocalyptic scene. Inspired by Japan’s suffering after World War II and its successful recovery from devastation, Kayukawa creates a symbolic message of hope–that the world will recover from the current worldwide economic devastation as Japan did when it successfully rebuilt the country’s economy and infrastructure in the post-World War II era.”
In the wake of Japan’s recent natural disasters, the piece is as relevant as ever.
Yumiko Kayukawa was born and raised in the small town of Naie on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido where she graduated from the Hokkaido College of Art and Design. Kayukawa moved to the United States over 10 years ago to pursue her life as an artist. She has since shown her work at Joshua Liner Gallery, New York City and La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles among other places.
If you’re in San Francisco, make sure to catch Yumiko Kayaukawa’s show before it ends on April 2, 2011.