(selected by Sally Lai)
Spell 1, 2005
Japanese born Rui Matsunaga is a London based artist whose distinctive paintings and drawings invent an alluring world in which cartoon icons and luminaries of pop culture meet with magical spirits and ancient mythologies. Her figures introduce us to a kind of contemporary folklore, and as critic Morgan Falconer suggests, 'show us the shapes and attributes of what we might call Modern Gods'. (1)
Matsunaga reclaims her figurative imagery from a variety of sources including magazines, films, books and the Internet. Some of the artist's characters come from the distinctive world of Manga and the broad genres of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Others are retrieved from the wider media; recognisable icons include Prince ('Jaguar Prince', 2005), the 'Evian' girl (2005) and Father Christmas - or at least his vesture ('Tea Time', 2005). These personas are simply used as a starting point, and working primarily in paint, Matsunaga reveals their alternative identity through ideas originating in ancient mythology. The result of this unlikely merger is otherworldly, Matsunaga's figures emerge as 'Shamans, Witches, Oracles, Medicine-Men... Minotaurs, Satyr, Imps and Nymphs' (2) existing in the realm of the magical and spiritual.
When painting, Matsunaga will focus on something about the figure 'such as the way they hold themselves, their hairstyle, dress or facial expression' (3) and this will determine the direction each painting will take. She is essentially turning her characters inside out, engineering them into new creatures imagined and created via history and myth. Through these means, the works engage with the spiritual whilst also referencing the historical significance of portraiture. Matsunaga's world is a fantasy kingdom that looks more towards utopian existence than reality, but nonetheless offers an interesting take on contemporary society. Matsunaga exaggerates and plays on the tension between reality and fiction, technology and tradition. She describes this as the moment when 'the fairy-tale seeps through, guiding and revealing a dimension fused with the magical and spiritual'. (4) In an age so dominated by technology, ancient mythologies and myths are beginning to fade out of existence. Matsunaga manages to capture these fragmentary traditions in her paintings, bringing histories back to life and allowing us to 'contemplate our multi-dimensional and shifting realities'. (5)
As Matsunaga paints, increasingly involved in the fate of her figures, sub-narratives begin to form. Matsunaga cites the cycle of life, death and reincarnation as an important concern. In the work, there are often others acting around the central figure and Matsunaga explains that these characters are spirits waiting to be reincarnated, 'It is as if we all have a slightly different version of us in endless dimensions and they are like ghosts, always with us echoing around us... this spiritual dimension is entwined in our everyday reality and the voices of lives coming in and out of life are always around us'. (6)
Biography
Rui Matsunaga was born in Ube City, Japan (1968). She studied BA Fine Art: Painting, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (1996-1999), MA Fine Art Painting, Royal Academy of Arts Schools (1999-2002) and undertook the London Associate Research Course in Painting, City and Guilds Arts School (2003-2004).
Recent exhibitions include Heathen Threshold (Sartorial Contemporary, London 2006); Outdoors (Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London 2006); We have Left the City Gates (Nunnery Gallery, London 2005); New London Kicks (Wooster Projects, New York 2005) and RAdical (Jerwood Space, London 2005). She was finalist in the Lexmark European Painting Prize (2003) and was granted a residency at Kyoto Arts Centre (Japan 2003).
Matsunaga is currently showing in I'll be your Mirror a portrait show developed as part of the Liverpool Independent Biennial, open until 26 November 2006. She has also been nominated by Mark Quinn for the 'reader curated' exhibtion http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2006/09/your_gallery_exhibition_in_lon_1.php" target="_blank. 30 artists from Saatchi's 'Your Gallery' website were selected for the show and the public will select ten of these for the final exhibtion. The work of the ten selected artists will appear in the Guardian Newsroom gallery from 24 - 28 October.
Matsunaga currently lives and works in London.
References
(1) Morgan Falconer, RA Magazine 2002
(2) Rui Matsunaga , Artists Statement 2006
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
(5) Ibid
(6) Ibid
Links/Sources
Your Gallery, Saatchi website
I'll be your Mirror, Liverpool Independent Biennial
October 2006
