Kaoruko presents Aromako at the Mike Weiss Gallery - video with GoSee cameo and photos here

Kaoruko is the first solo exhibition by former Japanese pop star Kaoruko at the Mike Weiss Gallery. The visitor numbers clearly reflected this – the media interest was equally as impressive.

Aromako, is a play on words on aroma and the artist’s name, which provides the k and o. She presents women in various stages of undress in a private environment. The images are underlines with a variety of references to Japanese culture, such as woodblock prints or typical Japanese patterns.

She places great importance on the women not being simply staged. It is not supposed to look voyeuristic, the viewer is supposed to feel as though they can see behind the scenes, into the demanding lives of young Japanese women, governed by socio-cultural norms.

In the series, the women inhale one another’s bodily odours, a gesture of familiarity that is a decidedly feminist stance against the significance placed by Japanese culture on pristine modesty. The very acknowledgment of these odours goes against the idealised fantasy of the ‘yamato nadeshiko’ (= ‘Japanese dianthus flowers’ meaning ‘women with traditional Japanese beauty’) and the social construct of ‘kawaii’, which values the feminine in terms of ‘adorability’ and ‘cuteness’ .

In revealing their skin, Kaoruko’s laidback girls also present the truth about their bodies that lies concealed behind a mask of perfection, therefore illustrating the dichotomy of the contemporary Japanese women.

Born in Nagoya, Japan, KAORUKO is a self-taught artist who is now living and working in New York City. She attended the private view in a kimono of course. Skip to 2:34 to spot Mr. Schmitz himself.


KAORUKO by Aromako
Until January 7, 2012
Mike Weiss Gallery
520 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
United States