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This work features a figure wearing jeans, depicting them from stomach to thighs. It is made of jeans and hemp bags that have been hardened with lacquer.

In the abdomen area, the stitching on the hemp bag resembles a deep scar, and the countless holes look like bullet holes. The deep red color combined with the gloss of the lacquer makes it look as if the piece has been soaked and stained in blood.

This painfully scarred body seems to be a representation of the history of Okinawa — from the Battle of Okinawa, through the U.S. Occupation, to the present day. The jeans are used to symbolize America.

Okinawa was under U.S. occupation for 27 years after the war. Even after reversion to mainland Japan, U.S. military bases remain, so the influence of America continues to permeate and impact life on the island.

It is within this context that this work seeks to ask: “What is Okinawan identity?”

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