Yoshiko Shimada was born in 1959 in Tokyo, lives and works in Chiba. Shimada graduated from Scripps College in 1982 and received Ph.D. from Kingston University, London in 2015. She explores the themes of cultural memory and the role of women in the Asia-Pacific War, as both aggressors and victims. As methods of expression, she uses printmaking, installation, video, performance, research and archiving.
When Emperor Showa passed away in 1988, Shimada began to create artworks about violence, war, women and Japanese history and nationalism. With her research of the roles of women in a male-centric environment, she attempts to look critically at conventional feminism. Her works address the power structures within organisations such as the Japan Women's Association, the roles and responsibilities of Japanese women, and what sorts of positions they held along with Korean "comfort women" during and after the Second World War.
Shimada also conducted fieldwork in Asia - the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand - to gather information not only about women during the war period, but also about falsehoods and truths in the home and community.
Recent years, she also works as an art historian and archivist. Her research interests include art and politics in the post-war Japan, alternative art education, and feminism.
[Yoshiko Shimada] Born in 1959 in Tokyo. Lives and works in Chiba. Shimada graduated from Scripps College in 1982 and received Ph.D. from Kingston University, London in 2015. She explores the themes of cultural memory and the role of women in the Asia-Pacific War, as both aggressors and victims. As methods of expression, she uses printmaking, installation, video, performance, research and archiving. She also works as an art historian and archivist. Her research interests include art and politics in the post-war Japan, alternative art education, and feminism. Her works have been shown widely in exhibitions such as “Fanatic Heart”, Para Site, Hong Kong (2022-2023), "Spirit Labor: Duration, Difficulty, and Affect", GARAGE Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2021-2022), “Japan Unlimited”, MuseumsQuartier Wien (2019), “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’”, Aichi Triennale (2019) and “Beyond Hiroshima” Tel Aviv University Art Gallery (2015). In 2017, she curated “From Nirvana to Catastrophe: Matsuzawa Yutaka and His ‘Commune in Imaginary Space’” at Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo. She currently lectures on feminism and art at the University of Tokyo.
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Yoshiko Shimada "A Series of Lectures on Art and Constitution, 21st, Thinking About ’After Freedom of Expression?’ " Tokyo University of the Arts
14 Sep 2019Yoshiko Shimada will participate in 'A Series of Lectures on Art and Constitution, 21st, Thinking About 'After Freedom of Expression?' ' at Tokyo University of...Read more -
Yoshiko Shimada conference "Conceptualism and Materiality. Matters of Art and Politics" The Courtauld Institute of Art, London
14 Sep 2019Yoshiko Shimada will participate in conference 'Conceptualism and Materiality. Matters of Art and Politics' at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London on Thu 10th October...Read more -
Yoshiko Shimada "After ’freedom of expression?’ " Aichi Triennale 2019, Aichi
2 Aug 2019Yoshiko Shimada is participating in 'After ´freedom of expression?´' at Aichi Triennale 2019 from 1 August to 14 October 2019.('After ´freedom of expression?´' was abandoned...Read more -
Yoshiko Shimada Talk Session "Art That Makes You Uncomfortable" The University of British Columbia, Vancouver
23 Feb 2019Yoshiko Shimada will participate in talk session, 'Art That Makes You Uncomfortable' at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver on 1th May. Exhibition Information Talk...Read more
