IZUMI MIYAZAKI: modern japanese surrealism

Making her start on Tumblr in 2012, Izumi Miyazaki is one of the stars of the new generation of Japanese photographers. Focusing primarily on surrreal and humorous self portraits, Miyazaki rejects traditional photographic norms in favor of a more absurd journey through self expression and exploration.

Born and raised in Japan, Miyazaki has explained that she found it difficult to approach the idea of photographing other people and self portraits became a natural alternative. Starting with sporadic posts on Tumblr, recognition for Miyazaki has skyrocketed and resulted in her working on shoots with the likes of Valentino and VICE.

As a surrealist, Miyazaki is fascinated with removing boundaries and exploring the raw thoughts and emotions of the artist. Despite their whimsical nature, Miyazaki’s self portraits often deal with heavy themes such as sadness and anger. Across her entire oeuvre of self portraits, she has not smiled once. She attempts to reclaim these negative feelings by presenting them in an enjoyable and fun way - as in ‘Fish’, a portrait of her head being split open.

Thanks to her raw talent and fascinating productions, Miyazaki’s career is sure to continue flourishing from here on out. She is one to keep an eye on for sure.