4. Eyes Wide Open, Eyes Shut By Yoshimoto Nara
The manga and anime of the artist’s 1960s childhood are both clear influences on Nara’s stylised, large-eyed figures. The Japanese artist subverts these typically cute images by infusing his works with horror-like imagery. This juxtaposition of ‘human evil’ with the innocent child may be a reaction to Japan’s rigid social conventions. Or it may be a response to the fact that Margaret Keane’s wide-eyed children are far more ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ than Nara’s.