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Empty
Dream
(1995)
In Empty
Dream, a glistening mermaid lounges seductively on a man-made beach
in downtown Tokyo. On closer inspection (once again a larger image is
displayed by clicking on the small images on the left), the viewer can
see the walls and skylight that surround the staged fantasy island. The
mermaid in the foreground is not alone however, nestling behind the children
playing with pink rubber rings, another identical 'alien' splashes her
tail in the water. The bathers sunning themselves in their 'empty dream'
appear indifferent to the presence of these otherworldly beings.
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Last
Departure (1996)
Last Departure
again utilises the multiplication of an image. This time, the 'aliens'
in Mariko's larger than life cibachrome print appear to almost hover above
a walkway in Renzo Piano's futuristic Kansai airport in Osaka Bay. They
hold a glass sphere in their hands, much like a crystal ball used by mystics
for telling the future - perhaps they have come to show us our destiny.
The crystal ball also alludes to the 1980 novel Nantonaku Kurisutoru
(Somehow, Crystal), by Yasuo Tanaka that describes the lives of
fashion obsessed young women much like the young 'cyborgs' who patrol
the streets of the Yamanote district in Tokyo. |
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Beginning
of the End (1996)
Beginning
of the End consists of a series of images that depict an 'alien' reclining
and sealed within a plastic capsule that has landed in front of various
seemingly inappropriate landmarks such as the Great Pyramids at Giza in
Egypt. Rachel Schreiber points out that the pod could serve either to
protect its inhabitant from the world around it, or simply as a mode of
transport (Schreiber 1999). |
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Miko
no Inori - The Shamen Girl's Prayer
(1996)
Miko no Inori
is the result of Mariko's first dabblings with two-dimensional film. Outfitted
entirely in white, the artist takes on the role of 'alien' (much like
the being depicted in Last Departure) erotically caressing a crystal
ball in her hands. All the while, Mariko's voice can be heard singing
an evocative ballad in her native tongue. Michael Cohen describes her
as having "platinum feathered Vegas-girl hair, ruby-red heart shaped
lips and iridescent three inch nails" (Cohen 1997). It would appear
from Cohen's enthusiastic description of this alien (or Shaman Girl)
that she embodies the ultimate male fantasy. After being exposed to this
vision of perfect feminine beauty for the four minutes that Miko no
Inori lasts, the viewer may be inclined to think Mariko has submitted
to "society's dominating fantasies" (ibid) however, it
may be more apt to think that "Barbarella has turned the tables and
taken charge" (Vine 1996). |
