Hikari Shimoda

Inspired by Japanese manga and anime from her youth, Hikari Shimoda paints modern-day issues with colourful and illustrative techniques. Her paintings often depict starry-eyed children dressed in heroic costumes resembling Superman and magical girls – an anime sub-genre of young girls who use magic. These storylines often reveal problems and struggles in contemporary society, and Shimoda does the same with her paintings through the juxtaposition of brushwork, text and collage. Shimoda sees the characters as a commentary on Christianity’s anointment of Jesus Christ as a saviour of humanity – a mirror of our fantasy heroes. "They also represent our adult desire to nurture the children of the world", she says, "and to defend the unfair world we have constructed".

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, Shimoda became increasingly interested in her own connections to the outside world. In her portrait series Whereabouts of God, other-worldly children are adorned with Chornobyl necklaces. Similarly, in Children of This Planet children act as a blank canvas for what the artist describes as "countless possibilities where fantasy meets with reality, past meets future, life meets death and a world that is yet to be reborn". Not only do the eyes communicate each character's personality, but they also reflect Shimoda’s personal feelings and ideas.

Avant Arte does not represent the works of Hikari Shimoda. The artist's representative is Sweet Streets, and any inquiries relating to her works can be made to info@hikarishimoda.com.