Lyrically and suggestively painted, a visual poem of fascinating sensuous gothic beauty. For mature readers.

    Often set among stone circles or enchanted moonlit trees Sudworth’s alluring paintings showcase her “passion for all things dark, romantic, and strange.” The five chapters encompass a range of compelling images: dragons and spirits; mythic and mysterious figures, like her red-caped Sorceress; haunted spaces and magical ruins; and deep shadows across sky and landscape. The artist herself provides illuminating commentary, and evocative poems from such writers as Shakespeare and Byron enhance the pictures’ meanings.

    Influenced by Western fashion trends from the mid 1980s, young teenagers, predominately adolescent girls, congregate in the urban centres of Harajuku, Akihabara and a number of underground clubs in and around Tokyo, dressed head-to-toe in gothic costumes and late-Victorian dress. The psychological characteristics of the average Japanese Goth is one of introversion and exclusivity. The majority of girls in the scene are teenagers and most usually stop dressing and behaving this way by the age of eighteen. The origin of the movement was in Osaka in the mid 1990s when young teenagers adopted Gothic fashion in response to the clothes worn and promoted by Japanese Gothic rock bands. In the ten years since the trend began it has expanded to a number of cities including Tokyo and now boasts many thousands of devotees who dedicate their lives to creating ever more flamboyant and bizarre variations on the Gothic theme.

    Sushi, Godzilla movies, karaoke and knife-wielding Japanese ex-girlfriends all get skewered in this all new collection of deadly misadventures!