Born in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1987, Chikako Kai graduated from Musashino Art University, Faculty of Art and Design, Correspondence Program, Oil Painting Department, Japanese Painting Course.

Through painting, she reveals another structure hidden within familiar landscapes. Using mitate-asobi, a playful method of visual analogy in which familiar objects and scenes are replaced with other familiar things, she creates works with traditional Japanese painting materials and acrylic paint.

For example, when people gathered around gemstones are reimagined as insects, the image of “bugs swarming around a watermelon” emerges. The humor and surrealism produced through these acts of association form the foundation of her creative imagery.

Through a distinctive perspective and visual devices, she continues to pursue new forms of painting that challenge familiar objects and fixed assumptions.