Profile
ShojonoTomo is a contemporary artist who, under the coined term "Skinship Burny," examines human communication issues, incorporating insights from psychology and neuroscience into her paintings, sculptures, videos, and Interactive art.
(Skinship = physical contact, and “burny” refers to the “burns” that victims received due to a lack of affection).
The name "ShojonoTomo" Japanese, the word “shojo” means “little girl,” and the word “tomo” means both “wisdom” and “friend.” In other words, the souls of children refer to the inner child contained within ShojonoTomo.
Following the recommendation of ShojonTomo, an art critic and professor at Musashino Art University Mr.Kenshiro Takami, and with the support of Gallery LA FENICE, ShojonoTomo began her career as a contemporary artist with three-dimensional works made from scrap materials. After briefly returning to the world of client work, she demonstrated her unique creativity in TV and fashion, which led to her receiving an award at the New York Film Festival and invitations to exhibit her works abroad.
Her representative work includes an ecology event involving a second wedding for a single sock and the hijacking of a cellphone conversation between other people and then changing it to a different sound and exposing it.
Other projects that she has continued within recent years include the “DOUBLE T-SHIRT” which entails two people wearing a single T-shirt, “Yukata & Festivals” aimed at contemporary people who avoid love out of fear of getting hurt, “Love Allergy Mask” focusing on masks, a symbol of the Japanese temperament, and other projects that she collaborates on with media art, as well as live performances both in Japan and overseas.
Since 2011-2014, Shojono Tomo has been represented by an agent in Los Angeles, providing costumes for American rapper Nicki Minaj, with her appearance wearing a face mask at the MTV awards garnering significant attention in Western media. At a costume exhibition celebrating Nicki Minaj held in New York in 2024, her costumes were displayed alongside high-end brands like Gucci, one of which was selected as one of the top 16 legacy costumes by Vogue magazine.
ShojonoTomo's works, expressing human communication issues, included art pieces like a single sock and a face mask representing Japanese temperament, challenging societal preconceptions through Minaj's persona.
The Artwork
| 1992 | GOLD youthquake ART category first prize winner |
|---|---|
| 1992 | SOLO EXHIBITION at Gallery LA FENICE |
| 1993 | Karlsruhe Film Festival（GERMANY） |
| 1998 | National TV appearance, Austria（AUSTRIA） |
| 2000 | New York Underground Film Festival Winning a prize（USA） |
| 2006 | Fasion and Art Show for MODORRRA（SPAIN） |
| 2006 | SOLO EXHIBITION at BEAMS B GALLERY（JAPAN） |
| 2006 | Bunny Q Exhibition customized toys（HONG KONG） |
| 2007 | “Friendly Monster Alphabet Book”（AUSTRALIA） |
| 2008 | DESIGN TIDE TOKYO at Theory / Aoyama Bell Commons & Omotesando Hills（JAPAN） |
| 2008-2009 | Art Installation at ANALOU in London（UK） |
| 2009 | GROUP EXHIBITION at La coco in paris（FRANCE） |
| 2009-2010 | "KIMONO FUSION".EXHIBITION at at Ostasiatiska Museum in stockholm（SWEDEN） |
| 2010-2011 | "KIMONO FUSION".EXHIBITION2 at World Culture Museum in Goteborg（SWDEN） |
| 2010 | Idealistically Hypocritical 6 EXHIBITION in Portland（USA） |
| 2010 | Wedding show for lonely single socks at tokyu hand shibuya（JAPAN） |
| 2011 | NICKI MINAJ FASION AT MTV Video Music Awards（USA） |
| 2011 | Tainted Urbanism exhibiton（JAPAN） |
| 2012 | g40 exhibition in Art Whino Gallery in Detroit（USA） |
| 2012 | MY LITTKE PONY CUSTOM TOY EXHIBITION BY Hasbro's in Los Angeles（USA） |
| 2012 | SNOW WHITE EXHIBITION with ONCH MOVEMENT at royal/t in Los Angeles（USA） |
| 2012 | MY LITTLE PONY Project New York（USA） |
| 2013 | ART NOMINOICHI at Roppong hills UMU（JAPAN） |
| 2013 | Fight For Your Right EXHIBITION in Los Angeles（USA） |
| 2013 | Young Art Taipei 2013（TAIPEI） |
| 2013 | SKATE BOARD ART EXHIBITION at Gallery Conceal Shibuya（JAPAN） |
| 2013 | Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Paris（FRANCE） |
| 2013-2014 | Fonzo custom toy exhibition in La（USA） |
| 2013 | POWER RANGERS presents:"20 RANGERS FOR 20 YEARS" Los Angeles（USA） |
| 2014 | NHK WORD TV―STAGE SET（JAPAN） |
| 2014 | EDO TOKYO MUSUM ART&FASHION SHOW（WA-CORD） |
| 2014 | WHO BY ART vol.2 by Littlefan.net at SHIBUYA SEIBU |
| 2014 | HAND MADE KOREA 2014（KOREA） |
| 2015 | NEW CITY ART FAIR, Japanese Contemporary Art in NEW YORK（USA） |
| 2015 | SOLO EXHIBITION at TAV GALLERY（JAPAN） |
| 2015 | SPAIRL ART FAIR URUTORA（at SPIRAL GARDEN）（JAPAN） |
| 2016 | GROUP SHOW [NEO SYUNGA EXHIBITION]（Art Lab Tokyo GALLERY）（JAPAN） |
| 2016 | Kazuo Umezu collaboration Live Paint（Shibuya Loft） |
| 2017 | NACKT（which is naked）EXHIBITION in Hamburg（GERMANY） |
| 2017 | HANAMI EXHIBITION at Gallery ZeinXeno（KOREA） |
| 2017 | SAKURA EXHIBITION in Bruxelles（Kingdom of Belgium） |
| 2017 | KANAZAWA 21st CENTURY KOGEI FESTIVAL（by Gallery Rempah-Rempah）（JAPAN） |
| 2018 | FLAT EXHIBITION at TERRATORIA |
| 2018 | YUKATA&MATSURI PROJECT LIVE（ON-1 / EDGEof） |
| 2019 | LIVE PERFORMANCE PAINT[DOUBLE T-SHIRT for ART BIRTHDAY]（at Art Lab Tokyo GALLERY） |
| 2020 | DOUBLE T SHIRT BY KENDO（for ART BIRTHDAY） |
| 2021 | INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR（TAIPEI） |
| 2022 | LIVE PERFORMANCE PAINT[DOUBLE] at KOCA |
| 2022 | SOLO EXHIBITION at TETOKA（Ras and Scotoma） |
| 2022 | MOVIE[EROTION] COSTUME WORK PRODUCTION（at EURO SPACE） |
| 2023 | SOLO EXHIBITION AT GALLERY ZAVA（BACK TO THE 90’S[NIKU]） |
| 2023 | ART PROJECT TAKASAKI 2023 |
| 2024 | FASHION EXHIBITION CELEBRATING NICKI MINAJ 2024NYC（USA） |
| 2024 | MOVIE[EROTION] 15th New Media Film Festival（USA） |
| 2024 | SOLO EXHIBITION AT EXCUBE GALLERY8（BONDAGE CAMERA） |