Keiji Ishida : Wings, Paws and Claws

30 Oct-17 Dec 2015

Overview

Originally trained in figurative painting, Keiji Ishida has abandoned the traditional elements of the Western style, such as perspective, composition and tone, in favour of incongruous objects and text sharing the same dimensional space. Fascinated by the variety of mythological creatures of traditional Japanese folktales, Ishida has incorporated these anthropomorphic elements in the figures that inhabit his works. The image, like a toy which draws us into play, invites the viewer into a fantasy space in which they can navigate the complexity of the canvas and the decontextualised illustrations. Merging time, space and logic, Ishida’s works have no beginning, middle or end to their stories, and channel the child-like curiosity of a story book.