Yasumasa Morimura | Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self

Yasumasa Morimura is included in Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self, a group exhibition on view at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum through May 10, 2026.

Persona: Photography and the Re-Imagined Self gathers historical and contemporary images by artists from across the globe who engage with a character, an icon, an avatar—a persona. Through methods as ancient as face paint or as cutting-edge as AI, these artists embody personas that are aspirational, related to social identity, or cultural norms and stereotypes. Some engage with ritual while others reject tradition. They all flirt with reality and challenge expectations. In altering themselves, these artists push us to expand our perceptions of society itself.

Ranging from playful to political to provocative, the 80+ works in the exhibition time-travel and gender-bend, mythologize, mask, and mirror. Featured works by Morimura include Skull Ring (2001) and Standing Firm (2001) from his series An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo.

To learn more about the exhibition, please visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner website.