What's in a name? : Uchujin Doumei

I've made a practice of naming pieces within "alien menagerie" in Japanese as well as English, (using the Japanese title within each image).

The Japanese name I gave the overall project is "uchujin doumei"  (宇宙人同盟）which translates to "The League of Outer Space Men"  or maybe "The League of Aliens". I really like how this title translates to English too, in some respects better than "Alien Menagerie", but I also enjoy that the names I'm using aren't direct equivalents. 

Having two titles in this way allow me to express a slightly different interpretation of the project, even if it's obscure.

uchujin x.24

Uchujin x.24 has joined the ranks of the 宇宙人同盟.

His favorite Beatle is Ringo.

acrylic on Rives BFK paper 8" x 10"

Yoko d'Holbachie at AFA

Yoko d'Holbachie's work is a psychedelic wonderland populated by phantasmagoric creatures. Her subjects describe a dream space that I can easily appreciate. Frankly, I feel like there's some shared inspirational dna at work here. 

I'm not entirely sure how I first discovered her work, but I only have to look in a folder of her art that I've saved to my computer to discover when that was, October of 2009. Three paintings from the 2009 Hi-Fructose group show that year at Copro Nason, and three more from a mini show at Roq La Rue. In November of 2009, the London Miles Gallery hosted a solo show of her work, under the title "Living in your Dreams"

Until recently, I've only seen a few pieces in person as part of various group shows here in New York. I've had to rely on the internet to see what's shown at various other galleries around the world. It's been an impressive amount of work in total though! She's certainly been working diligently.

Last week, her first solo show in the US opened at the AFA gallery in Soho. "My Strange Goddess"  features 13 new pieces on panel, and 15 smaller works on water color paper. She's working in acrylics favoring the non-toxic aspects, and the quicker work time. "Regeneration" is my favorite of the selection, but they're all charming, surreal visions which stare back at you through their many varied (and unmatched eyes). The images I've collected here are from the show.

I was also happy for the opportunity to meet Yoko as she'd travelled to New York for the opening!

The exhibition runs through May 20th.
I'm sure I'll go back for another look.

If you're not in NYC, you can see the show at the exhibition mainpage on AFA's website here

Yoko's website is here