2021

At the age of 14, they were sexually assaulted in Akihabara, a town in Tokyo specialised in anime and manga - where it used to be one of their favourite places. It only happened for a second though they remember the scene vividly, with a man dressed like a typical otaku, wearing some kawaii anime merchandise running away. This traumatic experience made them realise that the anime and manga that they had been enjoying as "kawaii" were actually filled with sexually objectifying representations of women. They were frustrated by the possibility that these expressions in the fantasy world of manga and anime can be directly linked to real-life sexual abuse.

Ideal girls are created by men on the basis of their everyday experiences, subconscious and common senses. The image of kawaii female characters created by these men could also become the representation of women in reality. Although the position of female characters in animated films has changed over time, due to the needs of the production and the market, the majority of anime portrays the ideal female image with fantasising settings and situations. The phrase "kawaii is justice" went viral in Japan a while ago, yet despite the positive-sounding phrase, they suspect that "kawaii" is being consumed sexually by masculinity.

The surface texture of this work is extracted from the artist's actual skin. The girl, painted with a bruise-like texture, is created using SFX techniques. The constantly dripping layers of liquid are digitally made.


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