Red Flower: The Women of Okinawa (5 of 11)

In April 1975, Mao Ishikawa took a job in a bar in Koza, near the US Air Force base Kadena Air Base, which catered to African–American personnel at a time of unofficial segregation. She later worked at a similar business in Kin Town, home to the US Marine Corps base Camp Hansen. At this time, Ishikawa began photographing the men who frequented the bar, and, more prominently, she photographed the Okinawan women who challenged social taboos by dating them. She became familiar with these sexually confident women, documenting them over a period of two years in images of remarkable boldness and intimacy for what would become her first book, ‘Hot Days in Camp Hansen’ (1982). These images were thought lost for decades as the original negatives were destroyed, the prints discovered by the artist’s daughter.

For over 40 years, photographer Ishikawa has documented daily life in her home of Okinawa. Ishikawa was born and raised in a society under occupation, and came of age during the island’s ‘Reversion’ from US control to Japanese sovereignty in 1972. Okinawa experienced some of the worst fighting of World War Two, resulting in 90 per cent of its buildings being razed, and the loss of almost half its population. Subsequent US occupation, which lasted 20 years longer than it did in mainland Japan, was deeply unpopular. The Reversion also provoked deeper questions about the nature of Okinawan identity as a culture distinct from that of mainland Japan.

Through photography, Ishikawa explores Okinawa’s complex racial and sexual politics. Her images focus on individuals and communities from across Okinawan society, from shopkeepers and farmers to more marginal figures, like nightclub workers and day labourers. Soldiers figure prominently, as do the frequent protests by locals against the US bases; however, Ishikawa photographs from a perspective of genuine friendship and empathy, as she explains: ‘I hate the US military, but I love US soldiers’.

As the works from across the artist’s career demonstrate, Ishikawa’s images convey the strong emotional connections that characterise what she terms ‘Okinawa soul’, and the works highlight her unique approach to the complicated history of her homeland.

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Exhibited in 'The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art' (APT9) | 24 Nov 2018 – 28 Apr 2019