The First Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art

MihoAkiokawas born in 1952 in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. She completed a post­ graduate course at Osaka Kyoiku University in 1979. The artist has held regular solo exhi­ bitions since 1982, the first in Shinanobashi Gallery, Osaka, where she has frequently exhibited. Other solo exhibitions have been held at Esses Gallery (now Shimada Shigeru Gallery),Tokyo, 1987, and in 1992 in Temporary Space, Sapporo. Her work has won prizes at group exhibitions including the Special Edition Purchase Award at 'World Print Competition Ill', a travelling exhibition in the United States, 1980; the Prize for Excellence at 'The SeibuTriennial Exhibition of Print', 1981; and second prize at the '4th Biennial Exhibition of Prints in Wakayama', 1991. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including every biannual 'ContemporaryArt Exhibition of Japan', Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Kyoto Mu­ nicipal Museum of Art, since 1979. In addition to participating in group shows JAPAN MIHO AKIOKA Shadow in sway 1992 NECO colour laser copies on Japanese paper 220x275cm Collection: The artist in Japan, Miho Akioka has exhibited widely overseas, particularly in Eastern Europe, including the '8th International Print Bien­ nial', Krakow Museum, Poland, 1980; '16th International Biennial of Graphic Art', Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1985; and 'International Print Biennale', Museum of Modern Art, Varna, Bulgaria, 1989. Most recently she participated in 'Photography in Contemporary Art', Walker Hill Art Center, Seoul, South Korea, 1992. T he artist's work is represented in severalJapanesepublic galleries including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Hokkaido Obihiro Museum of Art, and also in the collections of Krakow Museum and theWorld Print Council. Originally an oil painter, Miho Akioka's interest gradually turned to printmaking. Around 1979 she began submitting works to print exhibitions. In 1981 she began to work with NECO printing (New Enlargement Colour Operation - computerised colour analysis and spray printing) on large canvas 72 surfaces. The resulting work is a kind of mono-print: the picture is a momentary image from nature, caught by the artist with a camera. It is presented as an almost abstract image of a landscape, but the viewer can see wind or light coming through the leaves of the trees. Using this mechanism the artist passes her physical experience in a minimised form on to the viewer. Miho Akioka's recent works include large pictures in which the landscape is rep­ resented near 'life size' for the viewer to 'experience'. The artist's actual creative process is just one quick camera shot made at the moment of inspiration. As the artist's participation in the production process becomes less, the role of the mechanical process expands. The work is thus a mixed result of chance and the artist's will. Working thus, the artist has unconsciously placed herself in the surrealist tradition. NECO printing is a mechanism that ana­ lyses the colours captured by the camera and prints them with a jet printer in any size. The characteristics of painting cannot be expected from this system, as it cannot present the thickness, texture or depth in transparency.What the artist's work presents, however, is thememory of a passing moment, captured through the lens-a dynamic after­ image beyond the limits of a form. Recently many artists have begun to exhibit photography-based works, but Miho Akioka's art stands out because of the environmental character in subjects and size. According to the artist, if the viewer can experience physical pleasure through seeing her work, she will be happy. Takeshi Kanazawa