Minami Keita

Born in Tokyo in 1981.
After graduating from high school, she studied illustration at Setsu Mode Seminar and MJ Illustrations. She won the Grand Prize at Illustration Note's "15th Note Exhibition" (2014), the Silver Prize at the Tokyo Illustrators Society's "12th TIS Open Call" (2014), and the Judges' Award at the "13th TIS Open Call" (2015).She is a TIS member.Her work includes illustrations for books and magazines, picture books, artwork for novelist Keiya Iwai and the band LUCKY TAPES, and murals for commercial facilities.

Her humorous yet unsettling crayon paintings possess a worldview similar to Eastern European allegories, which showcase a unique critical spirit honed within oppressed societies. Her works question the "common sense" shared by society. She states that her motivation for creation is to "shake people's common sense," believing that while common sense is a system that stabilizes groups and societies, maintaining a certain distance from it allows individuals to take control of their own lives. This theme emerged from the altered states of consciousness she experienced, leading her to believe that the world is colorless and transparent, and common sense is merely a replaceable framework coincidentally given meaning by humans. This escape from common sense can be observed in her coloring, which deviates from established painting theories. In recent years, she has expanded her expressive range to include stencil and digital collage works, in addition to crayons.