MÁLAGA.- The Contemporary Art Centre of Málaga presents Tell Me, Devan Shimoyama’s first solo exhibition in Spain. Curated by Helena Juncosa and Fernando Francés, the show brings together fifteen works created from 2020 to the present day. All these works belong to the artist’s Tarot series, in which Shimoyama reinterprets traditional tarot decks through his own queer African-American experience, translating different cards into mystical allegories of change, evolution and transformation, and dealing with themes such as sexuality, gender identity and the struggle for acceptance. In the works exhibited in Tell Me, the compositional influences of classical painting are combined with textile materials and less usual elements, typical of drag queen culture, such as glitter, rhinestones, jewellery, Swarovski crystals or sequins, in the form of a pictorial collage. This mix of materials creates a unique visual experience.
Tell Me includes work from Shimoyama’s latest series, Tarot, in which the artist reinterprets the major and minor arcana of the traditional tarot decks, whose power to tell and reveal hidden truths for the purpose of obtaining information inspires the title of the show.
The works on display are mostly self-portraits depicting tarot card characters, each with their own story and symbolic value. In his reinterpreted tarot proposal, the artist also resorts to family members such as his mother, who can be seen in the work L’Impératrice [The Empress] (2003), or his grandmother, in La Papesse [The Popess] (2003). Through these images, Shimoyama invites the viewer to look beyond the surface and explore the hidden meaning and the new readings that lie behind each exhibited piece. The show’s title, Tell Me, suggests an invitation to indulge in the experience of personal readings of these new tarot cards.
Devan Shimoyama, one of the most interesting and unique new artists on the American scene today, works in painting, drawing and installation. His production explores themes related to sexuality, race and gender identity, drawing on a wide range of references including mythology, popular culture, mass media, anime and the great classical painters. His creative process includes a large number of materials, in the manner of a pictorial collage, resulting in compositions that feature figurative and abstract elements. The characters in his paintings combine male and female aspects, defying traditional gender norms by evoking a sense of ambiguity. The artist uses fashion and decoration as tools to explore self-expression. In his own words, “The materials reflect how I think about the construction of identity, and possibly the code-switching from one era to another”.
Shimoyama’s work has previously resorted to bold depictions of the complexities of race, gender and sexuality, addressing these issues from different perspectives on previous occasions. For example, his first solo exhibition, Cry, Baby (The Andy Warhol Museum, 2018) was a metaphorical approach to the ritual of haircutting in African-American culture, in which barbershops assume the role of a “temple”. Shimoyama transforms this hypermasculine social space into a queer fantasy where feminine glamour and fashion take centre stage. In the case of the Tarot series, the artist deals with the mystical ritual of fortune telling through the reinterpretation of cards, creating new myths and legends that reflect the complexity of the African-American queer experience.
In his Tarot series, Shimoyama references the traditional Tarot de Marseille and Rider-Waite-Smith card decks.
The Tarot de Marseille, created by an anonymous author, dates from the 15th century; in 1650 it was popularised by the printer Jean Noblet, who made it known to the public. The symbolism of its illustrations, while preserving Christian and religious connotations, begins to reveal the first glimpses of a nascent anthropocentrism, although it still belittles man in the face of an all-powerful divine being.
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the second tarot chosen by Shimoyama for his creations. More modern than the previous one, it was created in the first decade of the 20th century and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith under the guidance of scholar Arthur Edward Waite. It was published by the Rider Company in 1909. In contrast to the Tarot de Marseille, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck’s approach is purely humanistic, doing away with all Christian and religious connotations and granting humans ascendancy over God. This perspective focuses on the human ability to achieve truth and happiness through knowledge and reason, rather than relying on religious faith or divine authority.
Shimoyama uses pop culture and elements of the culture of his youth as resources to express the duality and complexity of African-American and queer identities. He draws inspiration from anime series such as Sailor Moon (1993), Power Rangers (1994) and Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997), in which characters defy traditional gender roles and fight for their own freedom and self-determination. In Shimoyama’s work these references serve as inspiration, since the artist is interested in the sequences of transformation of manga-comic characters who go through a process of change and improve as a result. This is somewhat related to the world of drag and the celebration of transformation in that particular context. In this regard, the artist has said: “I love the magical transformations that occur in female anime”; “All the drama, the amorphous, intangible energy that is visualised, just for a character to change outfits. The pieces of jewellery also point to characters as magical beings. I want my characters to be someone that anyone can project themselves onto”.
Thus, the incorporation of elements from manga and anime culture is apparent in the works on display. This is the case of Le Bateleur (2022), inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith deck’s depiction of the Magician, one of the most emblematic tarot cards, symbolising intelligence, ability and creativity, and the potential for realising one’s dreams. While preserving some of the card’s traditional magical symbols – such as the cup, the sword and the staff – Shimoyama replaces the usual pentacle with two of the seven Dragon Balls from the classic manga and anime series Dragon Ball to represent the five-pointed star, which can also be seen in L’Impératrice [The Empress] (2023).
Many more such references can be found in the works presented in Tell Me. For example, in Le Mat [The Fool] (2022) – another of the show’s most outstanding pieces – the young and adventurous protagonist is shown in a carefree attitude, carrying a backpack full of flowers. Instead of the dog that accompanies this figure in the traditional Tarot de Marseille card, here Shimoyama introduces Kiara, an iconic character from the Inuyasha manga series (1996), who originally underwent a process of transformation and was elevated to a higher state of power. Similarly, in La Force [The Strength] (2022) the traditional character of the lion in the Rider-Waite-Smith card is replaced with Jiji, the cat in the Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), in another example of the artist’s need to draw on elements from the series and films of his childhood.
Devan Shimoyama (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1989) is currently based in Pittsburgh. His discourse and his originality in introducing new creative materials and concepts in his work have made him one of the most renowned emerging artists on the American scene today.
In 2011 Shimoyama graduated with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University, and went on to receive his Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University School of Art in 2014. His exhibitions in national and international galleries and museums began with Cry, Baby, his first solo show, held in 2018 at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. This was followed by the installation Futures (2020), at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as many many others.Shimoyama’s work is on display in public collections in the United States, at institutions such as the Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, Florida; and the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio.
May 26, 2023 - August 27, 2023
