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Bodies in Overlooked Pain
2020, Video 14 min.
With the question of "Why does the female pain never go away?” this video work explores the history and culture of pregnancy and childbirth. To show not only physical pain but also controlled pain by society, it compares lost knowledge and occupations by the development of West medicine, Indonesian traditional midwives and the current problems in Indonesia and Japan. Three women in the video perform different positions of giving birth and prenatal exercises. Voice-over is narrated in English, Indonesian and Japanese in turns, so it reminds us that women have something in common because of the female sex despite of race, and it tries to show women figures in different situations by countries and its culture.
Stills
Solo Show Bodies in Overlooked Pain at the Koganecho Area Management Center
Mei Homma Solo Exhibition Bodies in Overlooked Pain
Dates/ Feb 7(Fri.) - 16 (Sun.), 2020 *Closed on Feb 10(Mon.)
Opening Hours/ 11:00am – 6:30pm *until 8:00pm on Feb 7
Venue/ 2 gallery spaces at the Koganecho Area Management Center
・Site-A Gallery underneath the railways (1-6 Koganecho Naka-ku, Yokohama)
・Hinode Studio I (2-145 Hinodecho Naka-ku, Yokohama)
Admission Free
Mei Homma presents her careful research and observations in this exhibition of her work on gender and post-colonialism. Her new work Bodies in Overlooked Pain will be presented alongside two pieces relating to the female body that were exhibited in Indonesia last year on birth and afterbirth. The new work, which began with an interview with traditional Indonesian midwives (Dukun Bayi), sheds like on the warm physical and mental care of women's bodies that has been lost to Western modern medicine. In order to introduce the many layers to Homma's story, the Japanese female sex workers of East and Southeast Asia from the mid 19th to early 20th centuries, a tracing of the alias "Karayuki-san", and the contempt for women in modern Japanese colonialism shown in the work Anak Anak Negeri Matahari Terbit: Children of the Rising Country (2018), are also displayed in the exhibition. From the perspectives of artists based in Indonesia and Japan, the overlooked modern women's bodies with their associated culture and history will be portrayed. (Junya Utsumi)
●Opening talk & Reception
Dates/ 6:00pm - 8:00pm Feb 7(Fri.)
Venue/ Site-A Gallery underneath the railways
●Workshop "Art from inside our body"
Participants will observe stem cells derived from umbilical cord using simple microscope, while the brief lecture about the cells will be given by Fitria Dwi Ayuningtyas.
Sunday, 9 Feb, 14:00-16:00
Venue: Hatsukoi Kitchen in Hatsune Studio (1-23-3 Hatsune-cho, Naka-ku)
Facilitator: Fitria Dwi Ayuningtyas
Language: English *With consecutive interpretation
Free Entry
Capacity: 10 persons
Fitria Dwi Ayuningtyas
Born in Bandung, Indonesia. Lives in Osaka, Japan. PhD at Osaka University in 2020 (expected).
Researching into Stem Cell Engineering for Regenerative Therapy Application.
Organiser: Mei Homma
Support: ARTS COMMISSION YOKOHAMA
Cooperation: Koganecho Area Management Center
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