Photocollage : The Miracle of Silence

Toshiko Okanoue was active in the 1950s, producing eye-catching collages made from magazine clippings. The parallels between her compositions and aspects of European surrealism was purely coincidental at first, but after meeting Shuzo Takiguchi, the leader of the surrealist movement in Japan, her keen sensitivity to shape and distinct feminine sensibility evolved further. She began to use photos to form backgrounds to her images, in which buildings, landscapes, and other elements combine to create bizarre and mysterious spaces where dramas unfold. Her expressive fragments, mementos of society and fashion which in turn reflect the era, are a major element in her creativity.