Kawaii. Cover & Decoration

Two volumes in one, this book combines two of contemporary feminist photographer Tomoko Sawadas series of self-portraits. Decoration was conceived when she was invited to show new works at the Fundació Joan Miró in Barcelona, and was exhibited together with cover, one of her earlier works. While the former is based on the Japanese Lolita subculture and the latter is inspired by the theme Girl, both borrow from the fashion industry and pop culture trends in their consideration of the relationship between ones inner life and outer image. Through a disconcerting repetition of self-portraits in different guises, Sawada critically addresses what it means to be kawaii.