Open Secret (35/50)

"Open Secret" — a title that plays on the paradox of something simultaneously hidden and evident, known but not acknowledged. In Mayumi Oda's feminist Buddhist context, the "open secret" might be the suppressed history of female spiritual authority, the repressed feminine aspect of a supposedly gender-neutral enlightenment tradition, or the obvious but unacknowledged political dimensions of religious institutions. Her composition gives visual form to what the title declares: something that can now be seen plainly, once the willingness to see it is present. The medium-sized edition (35/50) reflects a work intended for broad circulation among engaged collectors.