Ishiuchi Miyako
b. 1947, JapanMiyako Ishiuchi (b. 1947) was born in Gunma, Japan. Although she studied design and textile in Tama Art University, she is a self-taught photographer. Ishiuchi photographs personal effects of the deceased and body parts to explore death, pain and aging. Ishiuchi’s oeuvre gracefully unveils the nuances of melancholy and trauma, inviting viewers to reflect upon the profound and unspoken aspects of life, the passage of time, and the inescapable reality of mortality. Her photography provides a poignant platform for the unsaid memories to come to light, and be re-comprehended.
When photographing the personal effects of the deceased, Ishiuchi usually places the objects on a flat surface, like against a window or on the floor or a table, and then photographs them at a close distance. These objects are not displayed with any stylized treatment, but are presented in a slightly disheveled state, either in use or just after, indicating how they are “alive”.
Ishiuchi Miyako received the Hasselblad Award in 2014, which made her the third Japanese winner and the first Asian female winner. She has held large solo exhibitions at J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles and Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama and she has exhibited at Guggenheim Museum, New York; Venice Biennale, Venice; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco. Ishiuchi’s works can be found at Museum of Modern Art, New York; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; and Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
Courtesy Each Modern
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