Ясумаса Моримура Осака, Япония, 1951

Yasumasa Morimura is a renowned Japanese appropriation artist who has been working for over three decades as a conceptual photographer and filmmaker.

Defining himself as a cross between an actor and an artist, Morimura is known for his large-scale self-portraits that are often superimposed on art-historical images. Through the extensive use of props, costumes, makeup, and digital manipulation, the artist skillfully transforms himself into recognizable iconic individuals. Morimura’s works are based on renowned paintings by Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh and Diego Velázquez, as well as images sourced from historical materials, mass media, and popular culture.

The artist’s reinvention of iconic photographs and art historical masterpieces challenges the viewer’s associations with the subjects, while also commenting on Japan’s complex assimilation of Western culture. By depicting female stars and characters, Morimura subverts the concept of the “male gaze”, simultaneously questioning the authority of identity and overturning the traditional scope of self-portraiture.