"ANIKORA" is the debut solo show for the artist Ryoko Suzuki in China.
 
The artist will be visiting Shanghai for the month of October where she is participating in an artist in residency program in conjunction with Jia Hotel.  She will spend 30 days working in Shanghai, and finding inspiration in the city.
 
At the end of the residency she will exhibit work from her 2009 series ANIKORA.
 
"Anikora" is the growing trend for Japanese men's desire to see their favourite pop or movie stars in pin-up or nude poses.
 
By exchanging the face of the original anime figure for the artists own, real face, she is showing a critical, human position about a (globally) increasing indifference towards some of our desires, leading to a situation of external control.
 
It is easy to see how men's desires are reflected in these characters, but less so how this way of seeing women is expressed in Japan's culture of "Kawaii" things.   Being "Kawaii" is the most important value for Japanese young women. But aren't they losing themselves and their own identities and personalities by trying to become objects of masculine society's desire for "cuteness"?