In Japanese
Red-Eyed Tribe, 2000
Digital ink-jet print
Chiho Aoshima, b. 1974
With no formal training in art, Chiho Aoshima made her debut as an artist with a series of digital prints that were created by her masterful use of Adobe Illustrator. Originally designed as an advertisement for an Issey Miyake fashion show, this work features red-eyed nymphs in a fantasy land.
”A member of Takashi Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki collective, Chiho Aoshima is part of a group of young Japanese artists whose work investigates-and indeed is fueled by-Japan’s obsession-inducing anime and manga culture. Aoshima uses Macintosh illustration software to produce cartoon-like images that merge traditional elements of Japanese art with the latest computer design techniques. This large digital print appropriates the traditional Japanese handscroll format to create a surreal landscape of biomorphic shapes, flying caterpillars and inverted mountains. Aoshima’s world is inhabited by red-eyed females in contemporary (circa 2000) Japanese fashions, infusing the cult of cuteness with a slightly more sinister subtext.”
The digital print is 19 5/8 x 138 in. (49.8 x 350.5 cm). You can see it in full length here.
Source: SAM Collection
June 15th, 2018
The Humble Fabulist 