is a Japanese artist who lives in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. She began exhibiting works in various galleries in Japan but has since settled in the

Colonia Roma Colonia Roma, also called La Roma or simply, Roma, is a district located in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City just west of the Historic center of Mexico City, city's historic center. The area comprises two ''colonia (Mexi ...

neighborhood of Mexico City. Her interest in Mexico came when she was seventeen, visiting the country two times to study culture and language before moving permanently in 2010. She has exhibited works in Mexico City, which include the painting of an old trolleybus in the Colonia Hipódromo neighborhood and organizing an event called Pray for Japan in response to the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

Life

Fumiko Nakashima was born in Iwate,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

,. She visited Mexico for the first time in 1999 studying the art of

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

and

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

as well as that of the Huichol, leading to interest in other aspects of Mexican culture such as the commemorations of

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

. During her second visit in 2006, she decided to stay for almost two years to have contact with the culture and the art of Mexico as well as to learn Spanish. She states that it was not easy but she met many friends who helped her learn and adapt to life in Mexico. During this time, she exhibited at

Garros Galería Garros Galería or Garros Gallery is located in Colonia Roma in Mexico City. It is the only art gallery and museum dedicated to cats in Mexico. History The enterprise was begun by siblings Joel and María del Carmen Nava Polina, along with Rodrigo ...

and the Japanese embassy in Mexico . She returned permanently to Mexico in 2010, as one of a number of Japanese artists. As a response to the massive earthquake in Japan, Nakashima organized Pray for Japan in July 2011, with Garros Galería and the

Salón de la Plástica Mexicana Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (SPM; Hall of Mexican Fine Art) is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center of t ...

member Celso Zubire at the

CONACULTA The Secretariat of Culture () — formerly known as the National Council for Culture and Arts ( or CONACULTA) before being elevated to ministerial level in 2015 — is a Mexican government agency in charge of the nation's museums and monuments ...

gallery in Colonia Roma. The exhibition included other Japanese artists.

Art

In February 2012, Nakashima created a work called "Doble Vida" or "Double Life" using one of the trolleybuses of Roma, Condesa and Hipódromo, which were donated by the Japanese government to Mexico and since have been used for various art projects. Double Life was created to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, and was dedicated with a ceremony on March 11, 2012. The imagery of Doble Vida consists of a background depicting the deep ocean overlaid with images of flowers and people in homage to what the tsunami took. It was sponsored by the

in Mexico City, the Fundación Japón México and the

Cuauhtémoc borough Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler (''tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nakashima, Fumiko 21st-century Japanese painters 21st-century Mexican artists 1981 births Living people Japanese expatriates in Mexico Artists from Iwate Prefecture

Life

Art

See also

References