Shunga at the British Museum

Last week I went to see the new exhibition at the British Museum 'Shunga- Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art'. Shunga are drawings and paintings that were created from 1600-1900 in Japan, and depict erotic scenes. Yes, it's a little bit naughty. To be honest the graphic nature of the pictures didn't bother me, I've got used to this through going to exhibitions throughout the years.

One exhibition that springs to mind is 'Pop Life: Art in a Material World' which was at the Tate Modern 2009-2010. In the exhibition there was a small room dedicated to Jeff Koon's 'Made in Heaven' collection of paintings and sculptures. These detailed very intimately his relationship with his pornstar wife, and were really in your face. There was a lot of giggling from the visitors who walked in. The Tate had warning signs on the door, which of course encouraged people to enter and have a look in the first place. I think that's so typically human, any warning of explicit material and we can't help but be curious. I think it's difficult to define what is porn, and what is art, and artists are always going to push the boundaries. At the end of the day it is depicting something natural.

The shunga images are very well drawn, and very beautiful. I don't know much about Japanese art, but to me they felt very typical of the culture. I personally didn't find them erotic, but I was a little creeped out by the odd lone man who insisted leaning a little too close whilst trying to view the images. The images are comedic too. I found the depiction of the women strange as they were shown as very masculine. The detail of the breasts were not drawn, which seemed odd as there was a lot of attention and detail drawn of the genitals. It would also seem that every gentleman in Japan is well endowed! The most popular picture on display when I visited was an orgy picture at the beginning of the exhibition, it was definitely a crowd pleaser (!!)

I was particularly impressed with the pictures that included westerners. I thought they were very clever in the way a different culture was portrayed, and the artist definitely made it clear where the characters were from. My favourite part of the exhibition was of course the Netsukes, they are just beautiful pieces of pocket size art.

I did enjoy the exhibition, however after a while I did find it a little repetitive. I loved the rooms that the British Museum had placed the exhibition in - Rooms 90-91. This made a really good change from the reading room, as there was more space to move around and it was easier to see the drawings. I also liked the way you leant into the drawings with a ledge in front of you, it made the exhibition feel more intimate, as if you were peeking into a private scene. It was great to see something completely different at the British Museum, and learn more about a culture I knew nothing about previously.