bio
Maira Shimada is a Frankfurt-born Japanese-Australian artist based in Eora (Sydney). An upbringing in Western and Japanese music forms has led her to use musicality as a means of perceiving dance, cinema, theatre, and poetry, which play into her work. Chosen media range from ink, bread + food, textile, video, sculpture, installation and photography. Process-led and experimental, her works often harness live elements such as time, natural motion, or sensory experience.
Simultaneously fascinated by and rejective of technological advancement, Maira has either utilised or abandoned technology to access other worlds. Remnants of childhood and the earth appear and disappear, much like the way we inhabit dreams. She allows generous room for misinterpretations that disrupt an expected narrative of thinking.
Maira graduated with a Bachelor of Natural History Illustration and Faculty Medal Award from the University of Newcastle in 2020.
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which I live and work, the Darug, Gundungurra and Eora Nations. I extend my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the land, waters, and cultures. Sovereignty was never ceded. This was and always will be Aboriginal land.