Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun

Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun (b. 1977, Kyoto, Japan) is a self-taught artist whose intricate paper-cut drawings merge traditional Japanese art forms—particularly kirie—with folkloric motifs and contemporary Japanese culture. Her works often begin as line drawings that she then meticulously cuts into single-sheet compositions over the course of weeks or months. These delicate cuts allow the pieces to interact with light, air, and their surrounding spaces. 

Floating Worlds takes its name from the Japanese woodblock print tradition of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world). For Moneyhun, the tradition’s depictions of femininity and women’s roles in society often serve as points of departure. She tends to work in series with compositions that feature women whose elaborate hairstyles, makeup, and decorative clothing reference bijin-ga (beautiful women), and who are frequently in states of transformation: becoming water, unfolding as origami mirror images of themselves, or appearing as animal-human or even bonsai-human hybrids. By reproducing features that define the beauty standards of bijin-ga,Moneyhun imbues her characters with a greater sense of agency. No longer passive figures within compositions, these women tower over, burst out of, and—given their floating silhouettes in the exhibition space—stand in sharp contrast to the worlds Moneyhun constructs.

This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Dr. Jane Hsiao Endowment and the Funding Arts Network.