Hair Combing (Kamisuki)

"Hair Combing" (Kamisuki) is one of the most intimate subjects in the bijin-ga tradition — a woman tending to her hair, the elaborate arrangement or simple unfastening of the coiffure being understood as one of the most private and revealing moments in a woman's day. From Utamaro's famous hair-combing prints to Goyo's celebrated "Woman Combing Her Hair" (1920), this subject has attracted the greatest bijin-ga artists. Binnie's version engages with this tradition while bringing his contemporary outside perspective to the subject.