My work looks at the concept of perfection in life which is the state of being complete and correct in every way that is expected. For my research, I looked into what is considered 'beautiful' which is when I found myself studying Geisha culture. Geishas are Japanese hostesses that are tasked with entertaining male guests through song, dance, and many other things. They are often misinterpreted as Japanese prostitutes but Geishas are not sexual in nature and are only meant to be perceived but not touched. This notion has made them be considered ethereally perfect women in society and are highly respected as such. I wanted to take this perfect image and play with it as I do not believe that everything in life is perfect. Some of the most perfect aspects of life have a dark element behind it and I wanted to showcase that with my work. I did this by making a Geisha puppet with a magnetic face and underneath her face is a different but more sinister face. This shows that her perfect persona is merely just a mask that hides her true motives. Under this face is a Japanese Demon called the 'Ohaguro bettari (お歯黒べったり)' which is a creature known for luring men to their doom and consuming their flesh. The moral of this story I created is to be careful when you come face to face with this beautiful lady because she might not be as beautiful as you think she is. Overall, I believe this ties into when you think you might find something beautiful in this world because you must be cautious in case there is a sinister reason at play.
