From: Juxtapoz
Kunikata's works employ the same narrative qualities of manga, or Japanese comics, though with a pathos that is entirely her own. She has adapted the conventions of the genre to tell stories more personal and emotionally demanding than those found in the typical work. Her style reflects this motivation, eschewing a more precise graphic line that is both raw and powerful. At first her scenes, like those found in manga, seem instantly familiar and engaging, but an enigmatic melancholy permeates each one.
A self-described otaku (a Japanese term specific to fans of anime and manga, roughly equivalent to the English "geek"), Kunikata's work is infused with the tenets and aesthetic of the subculture, referencing an often sexually-explicit manga subgenre known as yaoi. Addressing issues of abandonment, masochism, and depression; each painting contains a character facing a struggle, often surreal in nature, but human in its suffering. The plot lines of these stories are deeply complex, each is linked to a detailed narrative.
At the opening Kunikata will be engaging in "cosplay", a Japanese term derived from a portmanteau of the English words "costume" and "play." Cosplay is a popular Japanese subculture in which individuals costume themselves as characters from manga, anime, or video games. In Kunikata's case, she will dress as one of her own characters, a Japanese demon named "Kuromo" "which is a cross between a plant and an animal." This character is a significant part of her work, appearing repeatedly in past pieces and pieces for this show. Another major character from her work, "Katsuzo", a high-school student, with twin sisters, will also appear in cosplay at the opening. .
Discovered at Kaikai Kiki's GEISAI, an art fair where young artists without gallery representation present their work, Kunikata( Born 1976, Kanagawa ) has shown her work in several group exhibitions internationally, including Little Boy at Japan Society in New York and Jaen Rave at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris.
Mahomi Kunikata pictured dressed as one of her characters at the opening of show in New York.
Found on C-MONSTER.net. More pictures and video of Mahomi Kunikata available. .
From March of the Absent Friends
Art critic Midori Matsui writes, "Embodying the darker side of the adolescent psyche, Kunikata reveals the regressiveness of contemporary Japanese society, caught in its cycles of infantile play, while at the same time her visceral response to its chaos provides a way beyond its abject lack of meaning.
From The Murakami Method at The New York Times
An aspiring artist who especially interests Murakami is Mahomi Kunikata, a chubby, bashful woman who looks younger than her 25 years. ''Any time I am looking for a Kaikai Kiki artist, I am looking for an original artist that is hidden,'' he said. ''Mahomi, if she wants to create new manga or painting, she has to go back to her history: 'My older brother is dead, and my younger brother is psychologically ill and screaming. I want to escape from here, but I am very fat and I cannot escape.' She cannot organize herself -- how to escape, how to create something.'' Murakami is gratified by the progress she has made in the five years he has known her. ''She can open her heart and now do her art,'' he said. It is characteristic of his deep-rooted ambivalence that Murakami is drawn to Kunikata's original and repellent take on kawaii culture when his own art is becoming kawaii in a simpler way.
Hardly fat, Kunikata nevertheless thinks she is overweight. And, as Murakami indicates, she has a troubled family background. At her suggestion, we met for our talk at a cake cafe in Yokohama, near the camera store where she works as a greeter. Unable to decide what to eat, she ordered slices of two kinds of strawberry shortcake, which she quickly consumed while I browsed through notebooks of her pencil-drawn manga.
