If one were to compile a list of things taboo in Japan, it would read a little like a catalog of Yoshiko Shimada's subjects over the last 10 years. Shimada, 41, has addressed feminist politics in general, the Korean sex slaves Japanese media euphemize as "comfort women" in particular, and even (gasp!) the Emperor. It could be a result of the several years Shimada lived in Berlin, where art activists are as welcome and common as big frothy steins of beer, but this is one Japanese female artist who is driven to an exploration of the "difficult" issues that many of her compatriots would prefer to avoid.
This time around Shimada turns her sights on gender issues in a show featuring her work and the work of seven other artists. Curated by Shimada, "How to Use Women's Body" (sic) is now showing at Ota Fine Arts, an independent gallery in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
The mixed-media exhibition uses sexuality as a springboard from which the participating artists jump into what Shimada terms the "gray zone of identity" defined by sex and nationality. Shimada is showing a piece she made two years ago, "945," a meter-tall red Valentine's Day heart, frilled in silk, that frames a sepia-toned photograph of the artist dressed as American Gen. Douglas MacArthur.