Yasumasa Morimura

signed in English and numbered 8/10 on the reverse, executed in 1996

ShugoArts, Tokyo
Private Asian Collection

Japan, Marugame Genichiro Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art, Yasumasa Morimura: Actress Series, 1996

This work is generally in good condition. Please note that it was not examined under ultraviolet light and out of its frame.
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Yasumasa Morimura uses photography and performance art as his main medium, and costumes as the approach to create mesmerising works with collage effects. Morimura explores the bridging of self and historical identity in a postmodern and globalised world, and more importantly unravels the possibilities of writing one's own history. Morimura began his career in the mid-1980s, and was selected to participate in the Venice Biennale in 1988. Since then, he has been widely exhibited in Japan and abroad. In 2010, he created the A Requiem series, extending the subject of his imitations to important political and social figures of the last century. Through this series, the artist rediscovers an intrinsic merging point between an individual and history, propelling his creation to a new level.

Born in 1951, Morimura graduated from Kyoto Fine Arts University in 1978 and served a lecturer in his alma mater upon graduation. In his 1985 breakthrough piece Portrait (Van Gogh), Morimura meticulously dressed himself as Van Gogh in Self-Portrait in Pipe. Just as in his other works, Portrait (Van Gogh) bears a striking resemblance to the original painting work. Morimura skillfully painted his face with similar colours as the original work, and used clay and nails to bring about the features of the clothes and the hat. This type of parody would continue in his other creations that feature Western masterpieces by Cezanne, Picasso, Andy Warhol and Pollock etc. Morimura later became deeply interested female figures who influenced the cultural history of the 20^th century, and began creating the Daughter of Art History series in 1990 by dressing himself as female protagonists in various Western works. Self- Portrait: White Marilyn 2 comes from the 1994 Actress series, where the artist impersonate Hollywood's most famous female actress, mimicking her famous shot from "The Seven Year Itch" movie. Through this work, the artist has far surpassed the mere boundary between gender, culture, and art. Later, Marilyn Monroe would become the theme of another work by Morimua, appearing in his 2010 video work Gift of the Sea, Raising a Flag on the Battlefield, further exploring the meaning of war to the present Japanese society.