Ninagawa started photography since she was in college and engaged in various public contests. At that time, a new wave of female photographers emerged and Ninagawa also grasped the attention of the Japanese art circle and eventually awarded the Kimura Ihei Photography Award in 2001.
2007-2012
First film
Ninagawa started her career as a film director. Her first film Sakuran in 2007, and second film Helter Skelter in 2012, were well-received by the industry, critics, media, and achieved a box-office success.
2015
“M/mika ninagawa”
At the beginning of 2015, Ninagawa launched her own brand “M/mika ninagawa”, introducing clothing lines filled with designs of her signature style and actively venturing into the fashion industry.
2016
MIKA NINAGAWA
At March 2016, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Taipei officially presents MIKA NINAGAWA, which is the largest solo exhibition since the artist’s debut.
Displayed on MOCA Plaza, LEXUS for MIKA showcases a model which is transformed from an usual impression of car, a modern minimalistic, monochromatic look, into the Ninagawa-esque fascination and richness; hence, a commercial product of mass production is turned into a one-of-a-kind artwork. The exterior of the vehicle is adorned with Mika Ninagawa’s most personalized decorative and expressive elements. Integrating relaxing and free collage of images, along with fashion-forwarded and advanced auto foil craftsmanship, a dynamic aesthetics of sensibility and elegance is added to the ultimately refined design in the auto industry. This is Ninagawa’s another interdisciplinary work, combining commerce, design, and art after her achievements in photography, film production, movie, and fashion. MIKA NINAGAWA premieres with its first exhibition at MOCA Taipei, and this particular work also implies a state of traveling forward and symbolizes the commencement of a journey.
The arrangement and flow of colors and shapes have established an incrementally saturated prospect in Room 105 and its hallway, resulting in a sense of overwhelming inflation of vision for the viewer. The overwhelming compilation of close-up photos gradually evolves into an open landscape, exemplifying the double-perspective that the artist often maneuvers. “I employ two approaches simultaneously when observing things,” explained Mika Ninagawa. “One is to understand the overall context in the fashion of a bird’s-eye view. The other is to observe the minutest details, that is, to view the world from the viewpoint of a bird or an insect. These two perspectives are crucial for my creative practice.” For Ninagawa, small-scaled subjects, such as flowers, goldfish, strawberries and bees, and the vast sky have no fundamental differences. In the most extreme cases, the line between the artist and the surroundings even becomes nullified. On such nullification, she said, “I enjoy when a bug or a butterfly rests on me as if I had become a plant. I usually press the shutter at two types of timing—when I find myself unified with a plant as a result of imagining myself as the plant; and when an insect lands on me, who had become a plant. At such moments the contour of things becomes blurred and the line between ambivalent. It feels like I had turned into the flower and the flower me.” In addition to flowers, the stamen, fish scales, pit of fruit and even the entire space and world captured in the lens all become brightly pigmented as she translates her visual sensibility into surreal coloration. While visually appealing, the photos are contrived with undertones. As Ninagawa puts it, “As if it is a destiny, my mother gave me the name Mika, meaning ‘flourishing flowers,’ as a symbol for a thriving life. Ironically, it is the ephemeral vitality of the flowers that captivates me immensely and inspires my work.”
R106 exhibits photographs of goldfish from Liquid Dreams. Goldfish is a mutation bred from Prussian carp (*note). For human appreciation, people continuously cross-breed and transform goldfish for more beautiful and unique appearance, which also causes goldfish’s abnormal development in cells and in lives. Goldfish’s existence is aesthetically designed and framed by human beings.They swim in their own happiness all day long in ornamental fish tanks without any privacy. Ninagawa presents her perspective towards this long breeding culture and its extended consequences without showing any affirmation or judgment. As a matter of fact, human being’s lives are also framed in such contradictory way. Ninagawa hopes to remind her audience to reflect upon their truest, most original and natural selves and standpoints while appreciating the manipulated physical beauty and existence of these goldfish. For the artist, even though the photographs present something tangible and specific, they could also be extended to a kind of exploration of values and phenomena in human life.
noir Series《暗黑系列》
Different from FLOWER ADDICT Series on the windows in the 1F Hallway which displays saturated colors, noir Series in the 2F Hallway explores and represents the two opposites of visual perception with achromatic images. Bright light could make colors more vivid and eye-catching,at the same time enable shadows to grow darker and more powerful. Ninagawa believes that art ought not to reveal or spotlights only the bright-colored and beautiful world, but with a delicate heart and attentive eyes, it can also provide a lesson or represent things of the world’s darker side.
The walls and floor of R108 are entirely covered with digitally printed wallpaper of cherry blossoms. Among them are the two main pink walls, on which the full blossoms almost cover the sky completely, emphasizing exuberant life and visual richness. The other two walls are white cherry blossoms and the blue sky, displaying a harmonious dialogue between heaven and earth. Nearly ten close-up images of cherry blossoms in high resolution are selected from thousands of Ninagawa’s works photographed during the week after the 311 Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. According to the artist, “Japanese people love to see cherry blossoms; however, no one was in the mood for that during those days after the earthquake.” Contrarily, as an artist, Ninagawa felt a particularly strong urge to photograph the cherry blossoms. She said, “I could not bring myself to forget the cherry blossoms in full bloom. The magnificence of the cherry blossom sea really made one forget to breathe and was unforgettable! During that week, I took 2500 photos of cherry blossoms. I photographed like crazy, as if I wanted to remember something… Japan was so beautiful that I would take this work as a fresh start, and live earnestly the new life that we started again.” This series presents not only the beauty of cherry blossoms but also their perseverance and strength, which would comfort the injured minds.
Ninagawa’s portrait series is known for its vivid, strong style and colors. However, what really matters is not the subject’s gorgeous appearance or charming costume or make-up. Instead, through the construction of characters, costume, and setting along with the orchestration of light, shadow and colors, Ninagawa captures the essence of people’s true personality and charisma then elevates it to the most prominent point. In her own words, “I simply prepare a theatrical stage and add a little bit of interpretation. Through this wildly imaginative theater of illusion, the original quality of the subject is brought out, enabling a complete release of his or her charm without being sycophantic.”
