Meiro Koizumi

Meiro Koizumi (1976, Gunma, JP) often investigates his surroundings: Japan’s ritualistic culture and past events. As part of this process the painful reality hidden behind serene facades is revealed, opening up a new reality and possibilities for new ways of resolving the past in a way that can be understood on a global scale. In contemporary Japan, the status of the Emperor is still untouchable and a taboo. In the "Air" series, Koizumi depicts the figure of the current Japanese Emperor and questions the way in which he (a ruler or god) is to be represented. To reflect on this, Koizumi makes the Emperor’s figure disappear/ invisible in these paintings. From existing (news) pictures, he erased the Japanese Emperor, leaving a ghostly emptiness in his place. The series is titled "Air" as the word "air" in Japanese has a meaning of "unwritten rule" or "atmosphere that keeps one from breaking unwritten rules". These paintings carry this meaning of air, as well as consist of it.