31/05/2026
🧐COLLECTION FEATURE🧐
In 'Eisen triptych 4', Natalya Hughes draws on imagery from the Japanese art of ukiyo-e, which translates to "pictures of the floating world". Originating in the seventeenth century, these works often depicted courtesans, actors and scenes from Kabuki theatre. In 'Eisent triptych 4', Hughes has incorporated sections from two prints by ukiyo-o artist Keisai Eisen (1790-1848). Hughes’ process involves scanning and digitally manipulating her chosen images to create a blueprint for her canvas. The exposed parts of the female body are removed, leaving only their ornate costumes which hold the shape of the figure but now appear to be floating.
The removal of the figurative form draws viewers' attention to these absent women, and to the bodily folds and forms created solely by the fabric. Hughes’ restructured images invite us to reflect on the absent bodies and to imagine and rebuild their vanishing forms. In this way, the viewer plays a role in reinstating the presence of the lost figures in the painting.
Explore this image in person in the Z9 level 3 Foyer, at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus today.
Image: Natalya HUGHES Eisen Triptych 4 (detail) 2005, oil on canvas. QUT Art Collection. Purchased through the Betty Quelhurst Fund, 2006.
[Image description: A painted triptych (a set of three canvases) depicting three forms composed of richly patterned Japanese fabrics, floating against a soft green background.]
