Makiko Naruse (1974, Japan)
Born in Osaka and moving to Nagano at age 16, separation from her natural mother and close friends seemed traumatize the young girl. After graduating from a high school, Makiko Naruse began to suffer from schizophrenia in her early twenties. She started painting at home, encouraged by her father, a professional illustrator. She began to work first in watercolor, then in crayon. While her solitude is overwhelming in her watercolor paintings, her playful mind is inspirited in naive forms of birds and butterflies, which are scratched out from under layers of colors.