
Remaining tied to the ideas of identity, Cameo centres on the notion of rebranding oneself.
“I’ve been interested in the idea of changing the context of my own work, within my own work as it were, rather like opening up the layers of a Russian Doll”
The background TV screen shows a Geisha from another painting Noh to Ganguro. Out of her original context the meaning changes. What also is the sense of the barely visible word “identity” on the image or the artist’s name below written in Japanese?
The patterning of the main figure’s kimono also rebrands images from other paintings. There are the blue ground sheets of the blossom festival that appear in Neon Neon and Hanami and the falling figure over the city from Tokyo Time. The flattened perspective on the Kimono almost acts like a mirror rather than a fabric. This flatness is further stimulated by the reflections of the neon lights on the wet pavement. The solid black outlining of the figure set against the expressive yet muted brushing of the background gives the impression that the figure is a cut out, a synthetic chimera perhaps symbolising the strange archaic nature of the kimono in the modern age.
“I’ve been interested in the idea of changing the context of my own work, within my own work as it were, rather like opening up the layers of a Russian Doll”
The background TV screen shows a Geisha from another painting Noh to Ganguro. Out of her original context the meaning changes. What also is the sense of the barely visible word “identity” on the image or the artist’s name below written in Japanese?
The patterning of the main figure’s kimono also rebrands images from other paintings. There are the blue ground sheets of the blossom festival that appear in Neon Neon and Hanami and the falling figure over the city from Tokyo Time. The flattened perspective on the Kimono almost acts like a mirror rather than a fabric. This flatness is further stimulated by the reflections of the neon lights on the wet pavement. The solid black outlining of the figure set against the expressive yet muted brushing of the background gives the impression that the figure is a cut out, a synthetic chimera perhaps symbolising the strange archaic nature of the kimono in the modern age.