Chikako Oyama - Self-Portrait - 1995

Self-Portrait

Chikako Oyama
Fugashobou/1995/japanese/210*260*20

“Self-Portrait” is a collection of works by Japanese photographer Chikako Oyama. At a time when nude photography dominated by the male gaze of male photographers was the norm, Oyama was an artist who sought her own unique form of expression from the perspective of a woman photographing women. Throughout this book, a consistent perspective is maintained: the subjects are not viewed as passive objects but as active bodies imbued with will, tension, and presence. The title “Self-Portrait” should not be understood as a self-portrait in the conventional sense, but rather as a “self-image” in the sense of bringing to life the fantasies, desires, and images within oneself through the bodies of others. As the artist herself explains, this book explores the limits of what can be expressed through the human body; here, the nude is treated not merely as a subject but as a medium for the imagination. It conveys not only sensuality and theatricality but also questions regarding the subjectivity of the body, making it a significant example of female-led bodily expression in 1990s Japanese photography. While a collection of nude photographs, this volume stands as an experiment in exploring the self-image through the body.