Private Collection, image © Wellcome Library, London
Shawada’s grotesque, menacing clay totem poles and obscene figures are some of the most instantly recognisable pieces on display. Heavily reminiscent of African tribal art, they’re wonderfully bizarre and obsessively overworked mutant gods, covered with thorns and eery, bulging eyes.
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Visionary art, naive art, primitive art, folk art – outsider art can be all of these. And the 'outsider' tag reflects its audience as well as its practitioners: you don't need any theoretical knowledge of art to find it engaging. The Wellcome Collection's 'Outsider Art from Japan' exhibition brings together more than 300 exhibits, including ceramics, textiles, paintings, sculpture and drawings, by 46 artists, all of whom are residents and day patients at social welfare institutions on the main island of Honshu.
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