"Lullaby" by Miwa Yanagi
“Lullaby,” 2009, 12 minutes, edition of 5, image courtesy of the gallery
Kyoto-based photographer Miwa Yanagi is known for her series of images that examine actual and mythical female identities. Her heroines are devoid of commonplace anxiety of time-triggered decay; they only gain from aging that brings the long-sought liberation from their circumscribed societal roles. Yanagi’s 2009 cycle of digital photographs “Windswept Women” was chosen to represent Japan at the 53rd Venice Biennale and generated quite a range of critical reactions. Last year she was also exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and at the National Museum of Art in Osaka. Her latest work is now on view at the Rat Hole Gallery gallery in Omotesando. The centerpiece of the eponymous show—a twelve-minute video “Lullaby” is in a dialogue with several of the artist’s silver gelatin prints from the fairy tale series of 2004–2006.
I will follow-up with a link to the full review of the Rat Hole Gallery exhibition in the next few days.
