My critical view of the culture, religion and traditions of Japan was formed during my childhood in Osaka, where I first observed the unequal status of "Others" – women and minority groups, immigrants from other Asian countries and descendents of the lowest classes. In addition, growing up in the final years of the "Japanese postwar economic miracle*", I experienced the social and cultural stimulation, as well as the confusion, of the rapid absorption of Western values by Japanese tradition. Lastly, my move to the U.S. has added a global context and an external point of view to the construct of my examination of Japanese culture.
my recent body of work is inspired by the historical relationship between Dutch and Japanese. During the 250 years of Japanese isolation in the Edo period, the Dutch were the only Westerners welcome in Japan, where they mutually influenced each other. As an example, Samsara Pleasure Principle is an video installation concerning the never-ending materialistic longings of contemporary Japan by questioning the subject’s reality, as well as the mechanisms of human desire. The work consists of a mural size projection in a dark room showing the hyper-realistic image of a floral arrangement of imaginary, hybridized, synthetic artificial flowers on a table set against a black background. A plastic worm with a smiley face appears and slowly crosses the tableau, referencing kitsch Japanese toys. The merging of two styles, Japanese flower arrangement and 17th century Dutch Still-life, imply the impermanence of the temporal world and the excesses produced by capitalism and contemporary Japanese consumerism.
I will continue investigating Japanese culture and exposing Japanese social stereotypes in both Eastern and Western cultures.
* "Japanese post-war economic miracle" is Japan's record period of economic growth following World War II.
