The Girl from Nagasaki (Liberation)
Part of the Genesis drop by renowned artist, Michel Comte, the "Japan Series" consists of 14 unique works, which are a continuation to his cinematic film "The Girl from Nagasaki”, a melodramatic tale of love and despair, as a re-adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly.
In The Girl form Nagasaki (Liberation), 2010), depicts an underwater-scene: Cho-Cho San’s arms (the protagonist) are spread, her black kimono sleeves are floating like wings, and her white chest shimmers underneath a black bondage. The blue water around her is agitated as if by a spasm. Pinkerton rests below her, wearing his space- suit. Shot in the swimming pool of the infamous John Lautner house in Los Angeles, this scene appears at the end of the movie, after Cho-Cho San has committed suicide. She now re-lives her own life as if in a dream, finally liberated from her suffering, she floats in absolution.
Born in Zurich in 1954, Michel Comte studied in France and England, and began his career in art restoration, specializing in contemporary art. In 1979 Comte met Karl Lagerfeld who gave him his first commercial assignment for Chloé and later Chanel. He has since collaborated with Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair and Interview, and with brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Ferrari, LVMH, among many others. Comte later time traveled to conflict zones to raise funds for humanitarian projects such as “People and Places with No Name.” In 2008 he met Ayako Yoshida and has since dedicated more time to art and personal projects; together they produced their first 3D feature film The Girl From Nagasaki in 2013. Comte exhibited at the National Gallery of Parma (2016), Museo Maxxi and La Triennial di Milano (2017).
