Ayaka Maeda (b. 1989) is a Japanese artist and illustrator who creates delicate ink depictions of the natural and supernatural phenomena related to various aspects of Eros. The recurring motif of her works is the image of futanari (ふた‐なり), phallic fairies or androgynous creatures who have male and female features. The futanari concept acquires many meanings throughout the artist's career. Ayaka is known for her collaborations with artist Mo Esemu, the founder of the Ka-O-Bi project, whose art we discussed in one of our previous articles.
Fig. 1. Ayaka Maeda (sunabagallery.com)
Fig. 2. Instagram.com
Fig. 3. Courtship, 2022 (Instagram.com)
Fig. 3a. Courtship by Mo Esemu (Instagram.com)
Fig. 4. Andromorph (Instagram.com)
Fig. 5. Andromorph (Instagram.com)
Fig. 6. Dreaming of Glass Slippers (Instagram.com)
Fig. 7. Little Red Riding Hood (Instagram.com)
Fig. 8. Ode to Methuselah (Instagram.com)
Fig. 9. Emily and One Night’s Dream (Instagram.com)
Fig. 10. Dragon God’s Love (Instagram.com). The painting refers to the legend of the island of Enoshima, where villagers suffered from the attacks of the dragon. On May 31, 522 AD, Benzaiten (the goddess of eloquence, originating from a Hindu deity) descended onto the island to help the people. The dragon fell in love with the goddess and proposed to her. In the original legend, the persuasive goddess rejected the proposal and made him understand he was doing the wrong thing. In the painting of Ayaka, the goddess makes him cease his bad behavior by agreeing to become a dragon’s consort.
Selling Drawings on the Streets
Ayaka Maeda was born in Mie Prefecture, then relocated to Osaka. While studying manga, she used to sell her drawings on the streets of Osaka's district. Her first solo exhibition was held in 2012. The following year, she received the Tatsucon 2013 Gallery Tatsuya Award. Nowadays, her works are exposed and sold worldwide. Inspired by traditional Asian art, Ayaka uses ink, chalk, white and pink powder, gold and platinum pigments on Japanese washi paper. Her instrument is a round manga pen, which she dips into sumi ink: I thought that if I combined the two, the beauty of the bleeding of ink in ink painting with the detailed depictions made with a round pen, I could create a nice visual, and that's what I've been doing ever since (from the interview with Asami Shoda). The usage of a modern pen with traditional sumi and washi can be seen as a particular manifestation of Ayaka's art's distinctive feature, which is the synthesis of polarities.
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Click HERE for an article on the art of Mo Esemu, the founder of the Ka-O-Bi Sex Crafts Association
Sources: instagram.com/ayaka.pen/; miga0929.wixsite.com/ayakapen; "Unravelling Ayaka's Mystery". Interview with Asami Shoda (instagram.com/saga_asami/reel/DHNMHqgyxjh/)
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