hanare×SocailKitchen

What are the images that represent Okinawa? News videos showing Okinawa's frequent social and political troubles? Or photographs capturing rich nature of Okinawa? Or maybe videos portraying its warm-hearted people and their lives? These stereotypes are relevant to those who have no hesitation in consuming Okinawa, While they appear to be different, consuming these stereotypes of Okinawa and the being apathetic by repeating"there is nothing we can do about," are both results of the same attitude.

Images and videos of Okinawa are always aesthetic and political for this very reason, which Toyomisu Higa's works, both photographs and videos expose perfectly: please be prepared to accept everything and respond to what will be shown and said. Their Okinawa and your Okinawa will complicate together.

■Time Schedule
Part 1: Film screening
18:00-19:20「Nanamui / Part 1 Ceremonial Songs」80 min, 2003, DVD
19:30-20:30「War Stories Told in Shima kutuba」60 min, 2007, DVD

Part 2: Talk
20:40-22:00　

This screening and the talk will last for 4 hours. And those who have jobs and other commitments are welcomed to participate in the event halfway.

Toyomitsu Higa
Consider Higa Toyomitsu's books of photographs, The Luminous Gods of Nanamui and The Red Bitter Gourd 1970-1972 alongside his documentary film War Stories Told in Shima Kutuba. At first it seems each consists of "records" of three unrelated times and places. What links them is that none of the events recorded has been "historicized". The history of Okinawa is a "continuous present" that consists of several layers of time. By keeping his attention on the things that are in the process of occurring, Higa manages the extraordinary feat of recording actual events but at the same time energizing those events. Perhaps he is best described as an exceptionally contemporary video anthropologist-cum-artist, rather than as a photographer.

■How to participate: Please come to Social Kitchen directly.
■Organized by Mizuki Endo