Fuyuko Matsui

This afternoon I went to see an interesting exhibition by the work of Fuyuko Matsui, a Japanese artist who paints in the nihonga method - a traditional style of Japanese painting that uses pigments made from powdered natural ingredients such as shell, coral or semi precious stones, bound together with a glue solution. 

Nihonga was originally used on hanging scrolls and Matsui uses a lot of scrolls in her work, but instead of creating pretty scenes or still lives like the traditional ones, she produces rather dark, psychological ones. Many of her themes address death and decay, as well as depression and the supernatural. You can read more about her here.