KYOTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Message from Emi Miyako

I am pleased to present this exhibition, entitled The Gaze of Painting. Recently, I have been trying to adjust the way I look at objects depicted in paintings. Huaniaohua (Chinese bird-and-flower paintings) appear to capture nature, but the animals depicted have actually been staged by human hands and kept alive for the enjoyment of the human gaze. Likewise, the recent boom of modern female portraits has resulted in the unintentional reinterpretation of artworks. The resulting sense of unease has allowed me to think and learn about how and by whom these images of women are depicted, and how they are received. For this exhibition, my painting focuses on ghosts. I am very happy to have my first solo show in Kyoto at Taigado and hope many people will enjoy it.