Asami Kiyokawa

Asami Kiyokawa was born in Awaji Island, Japan in 1980. She held her first solo exhibition in 2001 and in 2011 became the youngest artist to hold a solo exhibition at Mito Art Tower. Asami is an embroidery artist who uses a needle and thread—along with other materials—to overlay an imaginative new world onto her photographs.

The image above comes from Kiyokawa’s “Complex Series,” of which her website notes: “Probably everyone has a complex of some sort. Something that attracts our concern, causes us to worry, and triggers our efforts to overcome it. Kiyokawa felt that way when she was working as a model. Eventually, she came to realize that her complex could become her originality, or her own distinctive quality. For this series, the artist took a number of photographs of the same model, and used them as the base for work on the theme of typical complexes that trouble women.”

I wasn’t able to obtain copies of the pieces I most admire, so I highly recommend exploring Kiyokawa’s website. I am especially fond of the “Mythology” series.

The images that follow are pulled from Kiyokawa’s social media account.