Fuyuko Matsui, Her Feministic Ghost Painting

So I'm working on my thesis under the cultural identities of Feminist art in Asian and African cultures.
This is just a short sneak peek of one of my artists that I have been researching!


I'd like to introduce the works of Fuyuko Matsui to you.

I love her works so madly.
You see and feel something deep and emotional wave (or whatever you feel) when you see her works. It's kind of obvious that seeing grotesque figures and feeling ghosty atmosphere in her works make you feel something good or bad, right?

She uses very traditional (I think she is one of the few Japanese traditional silk painter who use the technique) technique, and mostly known as a ghost painter. Traditionally ghost paintings were used as charms against evil spirit in one's house. Make ghost scared by ghost painting... haha

So these are some examples of ghost paintings...
it's just only two examples here, but if you googled Japanese ghost paintings, you might think "hmm why so many ghosts are female??"...

Matsui merged this type of traditional painting to feminism art... these are her works.

This ghost is carrying her uterus and her baby in it...

Traditionally speaking, women have to give birth to children no matter what.

Oh and have to have a baby boy, right?

I think she painted this before Lady Gaga wore the meat dress...

Oh but this girl is wearing her own guts like a dress.

It's a  interesting point of view that she explained her inspiration "Kusozukan" (which is a scroll painting describe 9 stages of decay). She said;

"I did get inspiration from kusōzu, but I don't agree with the Buddhist way of thinking," explains the artist. "I think the kusōzu was originally used to teach men that even beautiful women can decay, so they should give up such carnal desires. This way of thinking is very male-centered and I feel an aversion to it.

"In Shinto, too, I think concepts such as not allowing menstruating females to go through a shrine, and so on, are rather meaningless today. So I tried to paint a new kusōzu — from a female point of view."

"We have few female artists in Japan. Most of the female figures depicted in art are from the male's point of view, which can be sexually limiting or look down on women. But I am a female artist and I paint female figures from a female point of view, with experience of the situation of women and girls in Japan. In this way, I can paint the reality."

She certainly challenges to Japanese society which is a male-centered world traditionally and religiously. We (oh I'm Japanese anyway!) have so many "taboo" things, but she is speaking loud, but artistically and delicate way, classic way... and she said she loves a male audience is disgusted by seeing her works... 

Anyway, I'm just blah blah blah writing.

To be continued!!

Yohey