whereabouts of God...

Hikari Shimoda, Whereabouts of God, 2012, Acrylic

It is a very special artist who can create images that are simultaneously beautiful, charming yet slightly disturbing, strange and poignant.

Hikari Shimoda does exactly that. Hikari was born in Nagano, Japan in 1984 and studied at the Kyoto Saga University of Art.

Much of her work in oils uses children as a motif which she explains saying that she “pick(s) up their warped attitude or feeling toward the outer world and express(es) it through their physical body which has not been balanced yet. Through their unstable presence, I can express deep feelings I have inside, such as grief, alienation, and love.”

Some of her intention may be lost in translation but what is unmistake is the way that her use of light and vibrant colours combine to create a true atmosphere of magic and enchantment.

After the "Whereabouts of God" series shown above, she went on to create " Children of our planet"

These images were even more poignant when she explained her inspiration -

"A catastrophic earthquake hit Japan on March 11, 2011. Not only did this earthquake kill many people, but it has also called attention to a nuclear power plant explosion without precedence. This horrible tragedy occurred as a result of this society’s reliance on nuclear energy. Responsibility for this has thus been transferred from the adults to their children. Those who are born into this world are instantaneously burdened by an atrocity of whole-world magnitude. They are also required to save it. We must now face a new reality in order to live in this world. Through images of children wearing such costumes as those of Superman or Sailor Moon, I am expressing indirectly problems that the world now faces"