Geisha
Geisha
Oil on Canvas
24” x 36”
2023
This Painting is inspired by a Mexican Telenovela (soap opera) from 1988, “El pecado de Oyuki” (Oyuki’s sin), which told the story of a young Geisha in Japan, who fell in love with a young Englishman. Their love story could not be because of cultural differences.
I was 9 years old when the telenovela premiered, so I wasn’t allowed to watch it because it was not suitable for children. However, my mom would let me watch the introduction of the telenovela, and that was enough to spark my interest in knowing more about Japan, a place I imagined to be as magical as its people. Since then, I had the idea in my mind to paint a geisha. It wasn’t until I met Patricia, the model of my painting, that I could bring my idea to the canvas. Patricia is a Mexican dancer specialized in Belly dance, although I always saw her as a belly dancer trapped in a geisha’s body, Patricia fell in love with an Arab guy very connected to his cultural and religious roots, which did not allow that love to flourish, very similar to the premise of the telenovela.