"Tako Nyōbō"
// BLURBS //
The Tako Nyōbō, or “Octopus Wife”, is the kind of myth that makes you question everything you know about love, seafood, and life choices. She appears as a beautiful woman, marries an unsuspecting man, and all seems well… until he catches her secretly chowing down on raw fish with her hidden octopus tentacles. Suddenly, romance turns to horror, and the husband realizes, too late, that he’s been living with something far beyond his comprehension.
The Tako Nyōbō, or “Octopus Wife”, is the kind of myth that makes you question everything you know about love, seafood, and life choices. She appears as a beautiful woman, marries an unsuspecting man, and all seems well… until he catches her secretly chowing down on raw fish with her hidden octopus tentacles. Suddenly, romance turns to horror, and the husband realizes, too late, that he’s been living with something far beyond his comprehension.
But really, aren’t we all?
The Tako Nyōbō isn’t just a sea-dwelling nightmare, she’s a metaphor for the parts of people we don’t fully understand, the secrets we all carry beneath the surface. We expect love to be smooth sailing, yet true intimacy means coming face-to-face with the tentacled truths of another person. The question is: do we run, horrified, the moment we see someone’s hidden depths? Or do we learn to accept that everyone has a little monster lurking within?
Maybe the real horror isn’t the revelation that your spouse is part-octopus. Maybe it’s realizing you never truly wanted to know them at all.
So, next time you fall for someone, ask yourself, if they had tentacles, would you still stay? If not, maybe you’re the one who isn’t ready for the deep.
EDITION, MEDIA, SIZE & WEIGHT
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2024
Chinese ink and oil painting on canvas, teakwood frame
156(W)×206(H)×7(D) cm // 20 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
164(W)×214(H)×17(D) cm // 69 kg
EXPOSURE
“Cyberfeminity” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Shengqiu Li 李生秋 (painting) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
Unique Edition, Shanghai 2024
Chinese ink and oil painting on canvas, teakwood frame
156(W)×206(H)×7(D) cm // 20 kg
CRATE SIZE & WEIGHT
164(W)×214(H)×17(D) cm // 69 kg
EXPOSURE
“Cyberfeminity” at island6 Shanghai
CREDITS
Shengqiu Li 李生秋 (painting) • Thomas Charvériat (art direction) • Yeung Sin Ching 杨倩菁 (production supervisor) • Tiara Alvarado-Leon (blurb)
CLOSE-UPS
