Mao Ishikawa

Mao Ishikawa
Born (1953-04-26) April 26, 1953 (age 71)
Okinawa, Japan
EducationWorkshop School of Photography
Notable workHot Days in Camp Hansen (1982), A Port Town Elegy(1990), Philippines(1989)
Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, Photographic Society of Japan

Mao Ishikawa (石川真生, Ishikawa Mao; born in Ōgimi, April 26, 1953[1] - ) is an Okinawan photographer and activist.[2] Her photographs largely feature bar girls, performers, soldiers, and other fringe members within Okinawan and Japanese society. Ishikawa's earlier works are characterized by her approach to photography which involved the photographer's immersion in the environment of her images, whether by living with her subject or working in close proximity to them. In her photographs of active soldiers and military bases both in and outside of Japan beginning from the 1990s, Ishikawa has more directly addressed political undercurrents, namely contempt for the U.S. military presence in Okinawa and distrust of the Japanese government. Her most recent series Great Ryukyu Photo Scroll (大琉球写真絵巻) (2014-) approaches the same themes through a narrative tone, using satire and pop culture references to reconstruct important moments in Okinawan history.

Ishikawa's work has been exhibited at the Yokohama Museum of Art,[3] Queensland Art Gallery,[4] Tokyo Photographic Art Museum,[5] Okinawa Prefectural Museum, MoMA PS1[6] and various art galleries in New York, London, and throughout Japan. In 2019, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Photographic Society of Japan.[7]  

  1. ^ Profile of Mao Ishikawa THE TELEVISION (in Japanese)
  2. ^ "石川 真生". 沖縄県立博物館・美術館 (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ^ "原田正路／石川真生 | 横浜美術館コレクション展". yokohama.art.museum. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. ^ QAGOMA. "The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT9)". Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ^ "TOP Collection: Photography in the Ryukyu Islands". tokyo photographic art museum. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. ^ "The Perpetual Moment – Visions from Okinawa and Korea | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  7. ^ "2019年日本写真協会賞協会賞受賞者". www.psj.or.jp. Retrieved 31 January 2021.