Mio Shirai (b. 1962, Kyoto) emerged in the late 1980s with bold installations in Tokyo\u2014most notably at Hillside Gallery. Her early solo exhibitions there in 1989 and 1990 showcased sculptural works incorporating ready-made objects and reflective materials, establishing the foundation for her internationally recognised and conceptually rich practice.<\/p>\n
Since the late 1980s, her ever-evolving practice has traversed a wide range of genres, including installation, object-making, textiles, and video. In the 2000s, she embarked on a deeper engagement with painting, developing a body of work distinguished by the interplay between abstract forms and symbolic imagery that evokes cycles of life and the cosmos.<\/p>\n
Her short films, produced since the 1990s, are imbued with an enigmatic and subtly absurd sensibility. A quiet suspense lingers beneath their surfaces as they reinterpret traditional stories and myths for mature audiences, weaving together allegory and ambiguity. In her own words, the work appears to \u201cwander from the right path,\u201d deliberately drifting away from linear narrative and conventional logic.<\/p>\n
Her practice was featured in A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling<\/i>, a two-person international residency and touring exhibition. This project paired Shirai with London-based Singaporean artist Erika Tan. In the summer of 2008, each artist undertook a residency in the other\u2019s country\u2014Tan in Japan and Shirai in the UK\u2014immersing themselves in unfamiliar urban and cultural landscapes. The resulting body of work, encompassing film, video, and photographic installations, was developed through this sustained process of cross-cultural exchange and reflection.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Shirai\u2019s work Forever Afternoon<\/i> is directly inspired by this thematic framework and the imaginative tale of Alice in Wonderland<\/i>. In this piece, Alice\u2014portrayed by Shirai herself\u2014symbolises the Japanese delegates who traveled through the northeastern part of England 150 years ago, returning with new perspectives that would help shape Japan\u2019s modernisation. A moment in the narrative where Alice tells the March Hare, \u201cthat\u2019s not very \u2018civil\u2019 of you,\u201d becomes a pointed metaphor for the mission of those delegates: to learn from European notions of civilisation. Shirai\u2019s photographic work draws visual connections through these layered comparisons, while her accompanying drawings give insight into her imaginative and conceptual process.<\/p>\n Filmed at locations that inspired Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in his creation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland<\/em> and Through the Looking Glass<\/em>, as well as the grounds of Whitburn Hall, home of Lady Hedworth Williamson. Lady Williamson was a second cousin to Alice Liddell, the young girl who was the muse for Dodgson\u2019s famous stories.<\/p>\n