These days, Gal culture, aspiring to celebrities in Hollywood and Japanized their gorgeous looks, is found everywhere. The excess mode of Koakuma Ageha (Japanese gal magazine), tempting gals to make much decollation on their heads and nails, seems just freaky and powerful. In recent years, girl in male attire and otherwise is becoming one of pleasure, at the same time, it may say that cosplay culture which Japan can boast to the world becomes fashionable.Fashion or makeup, covered the outside of people, is a sort of a costume which is easy to put on and take off not only character but also gender difference.

What in particular I should pay attention to a young sculptor, Eri Shibata; her works depict an elusive multiplexed characteristic as a substantial thing. For example, a bust of terra cotta, “Yabu no naka (In the Bush)” (2007), depicts a kyaba jo (hostesses of the bar or nightclub in Japan) with clumpy hair. The body in vivid colours, sitting artistically on the seat, seems imbalanced and brings discomfort but its peculiarity just makes sense to me according to today’s women indirectly refer to European ladies served legitimate models for sculptures in the past.It is really interesting that continuous decorative culture is spread form not art history but cartoons of “Beru bara (The Rose of Versaille)”. The vision of Shibata who exhibits plaster wigs work is also somehow cartoonish.

The technique of biscuit fire, which is always nondurable but can leave the hand marks on the surface, is diverged sharply as maverick expression from the history of cast sculpture continued as historical monuments. The show, Shibata’s unglazed women step down from the seat and set the head and torso on the floor, looks like the world of myths extended back to primal sculpture. In addition, I can feel her dynamism from the roughcast texture.Shibata, who sticks with depicting women, is a brave female artist facing up to the muscled history of sculpture.“Rakuen (Paradise)” (2008), made with terra cotta decollated by glaze and brilliant materials, is a fantastic punch to stereotyped female nude sculptures.

In recently, with using as royal road media of sculpture, what Shibata creates a way to depict is sculpture which the heads placed upside-down. In “untitled” (2008), two torsos are in the deferent colour dresses. However, despite of its glamour, the faces are flipped vertical like guillotine and it gives the viewer a jump. In “Who is Mary?”(2008-09) and “Femme fatale” (2009),　these works recapture previous villainesses such as Mary Stuart and Marie Antoinette, of course, reversed the heads before setting of pottery in a kiln. Therefore, it successes to depict symbolically the aspect and obsession of women, who stoked public fears.The hollowed eyes have real intensity and I can feel fiercely the female nature hidden in the back of decollations.

Sculptures, praised accomplishment of historical characters, and old santos in religion are used be the icon showed intensively the authority, and also object of worship for people.However, at the present day, ideology unifying the world is a thing of the past. What truly catches people’s heart is pop idol.The hardiness of female pop idols is like a phoenix. Even they make rudeness and get rubbished form the public, they live on the mistake.Shibata, who finds out the two faces, preciousness and sordidness of someone worshiped by the girls.

Shibata says “I think Gals and Fujyosi (female fan of manga and novels featuring romantic relationships between men) cry out for help. Now, pop idles have a role which Buddhism used to be a part of iconolatry. Sometimes they are despised but it would make a new worth.”The toughness of the girls living with iron nerve, getting under arms like pink and sparkly fashion and the changeable society where easily absorbing and copying the icon. Shibata’s work pushes female nature, depicting the frailty and pliancy with ceramics.

It is a new type of sculpture easily overthrows the worth has been built up by tough guys. Now people are always tossed about by information. This is why the impact from her works is really huge.