Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012
In the long history of art the earliest canvas was probably our own skin, as primitive man first took to daubing his uniquely hairless hide with colorful unguents. But skin art is not just confined to primitives or dudes with tattoos. The most widespread art form in the world today is female make-up, a movement with billions of participants and a massive turnover.
Who are the Picassos and Michelangelos of this army of illusionists? One of the best in terms of technique and a readiness to unleash her imagination is Japanese make-up artist Ayami Nishimura, the subject of a vivid (and free) exhibition at Shibuya’s Diesel Art Gallery.
The exhibition presents over 20 high-quality photographic prints of Nishimura’s work taken by celebrity photographer Rankin, as part of a book project by the two. While Rankin clearly knows his onions, what grabs you are the imaginative leaps made by Nishimura, who moved to London drawn by the punk, goth, and other scenes that have always infested its streets.
One image uses the glossy lips of a black-painted model to make a leopard-like pattern on her skin, creating a naked, smoking beast. Another turns volumes of Shakespeare into a stylish headdress! Yet another design turns the human ear of a model into a kind of prism, splitting light into separate colors that then swim over her face. While some veer into kid-in-the-candy-store overkill, Nishimura is also adept at “less is more,” as shown by the snowy Rasta of “Cyber Gothic” [pictured] who cries rainbow tears.
