image courtesy the artist | click to enlarge
In a provocative piece titled “Ideal Island,” 22-year old artist Naho Ishii uses her body to represent the island of Japan in response to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Specifically, she’s taken a series of photographs and used a pen to scribble over her body, creating what appears to be a bed sheet made of small homes and buildings. “We use words like ‘motherland’ but is our land truly as mature and protective as a mother,” questions Ishii. “Or is it more like a child who innocently steps on ants?”
Ishii’s photos are like that of a child, napping. And when the innocent child turns in her sleep, things – in this metaphor, tectonic plates – shift out of place. “People used to have much more reverence for nature.” In Ishii’s world, mother nature is nothing more than a playful child who will turn turtle, bottle out or jump ship on a mere whim.
