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Ishiuchi Miyako

 Four stars 

Old clothes tell a multitude of stories in Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako’s debut solo exhibition in Scotland. Drawing from three bodies of work, ‘bodies’ is the operative word here. While no flesh and blood are on show in Miyako’s memorialising of her mother, artist Frida Kahlo and the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, by showing the everyday accoutrements that adorned them both honours and memorialises her subjects. 

 

In Hiroshima(2008), crumpled dresses are spread out like evidence, scorched beyond repair. Mother’s(2002) shows off close-ups of shoes, false teeth and lipstick. Frida: Love and Pain(2012) reveals the ultimate self-creation through clothes and make-up jars. 

 

Combining very personal images with much more collective mementoes shows how intertwined things are, joining the dots between public, private and secret selves with an intimacy that moves beyond any fears of morbid intrusion to immortalise and mourn. 

 

Stills Centre for Photography until 8 October, Tue-Sat, 11am-5pm.


The List, August 2022

 

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