Our goal is to realize an exhibition ‘Gender, Genitor, Genitalia - Rokudenashiko Tribute', the exhibition that was inspired by the incident of Megumi Igarashi, as known as Rokudenashiko who was arrested by her art works and now in the trial.

Firstly, we think it is important to let people know what is happening in Japan. Not only with Rokudenshiko, but also those LGBT artists in Japan who have been warned or arrested under the Obscenity Laws in the past three years. People in Hong Kong are aware of freedom of artistic expression and we believe that it is significant to realize this project in Hong Kong, a hub in Asia and also a location that is highly aware of, even threatened by, authoritarian politics. 

Secondly, relating to Rokudenashiko's incident, we will try to examine feminism in art and digital obscenity in this exhibition, within the context of the Hong Kong and Japanese experience. Through the works of art in this exhibition, and information provided about the Rokudenashiko case, we will be rethinking issues around feminism and genitalia in a cultural and political context. 

Additionally, hold a feminist exhibition featuring relatively young artists in Asia is important as not many shows have had this focus. 

Overall, we attempt to 1: revisit feminist art and works that directly refer to genitalia,  2: raise the issue of censorship through the case of Rokudenashiko, and 3: support Megumi Igarashi (the artist known as Rokudenashiko), who was arrested for creating artwork representing her vagina, and distributing 3D data of her vagina on the internet. 

We support Rokudenashiko by exhibiting her works and selling her 'Sof Vi Manko Chan' character, and donating the proceeds to the cost of her trial.

Title: Gender, Genitor, Genitalia –Rokudenashiko Tribute

Date: 29th August 2015 to 20th September 2015

Venue: Woofer Ten  活化廳

404, Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Participating Artists:

• Makoto Aida 会田誠
• Michael Leung 梁志剛 
• Phoebe Man 文晶瑩
• Lam Hoi Sin 林愷倩
  

• Ling & Comma （ Gao Ling &  Elaine W. Ho, 高靈&何穎雅 ）

• Sputniko! スプツニ子!　　

• ROBOT (John Miller and Takuji Kogo)　ロボット（ジョンミラー＋古郷卓司）

• Rokudenashiko ろくでなしこ

• Ryoko Suzuki 鈴木涼子
  
• Chan Mei Tung 陳美彤
• K Y Wong 黃嘉瀛
• Yuk King Tan

(image: KY Wong, He, glass, silkscreen print, collage, ink, acrylic and oil paint,
, 2015)

Events:

-Talk event with artists, including Rokudenashiko, Ryoko Suzuki and participating artists

-Performance by Chan Mei Tung

Background:

July 2014 in Tokyo, the artist Megumi Igarashi (also known as Rokudenashiko) has been arrested for distributing her vagina 3D data onto an internet crowdfunding site. This is believed to be in violation of the Japanese Obscenity Laws. She was released after a few days, then arrested again in December 2014. This time she was in police custody for the maximum duration in this type of case, 23 days.

The male genitals can be seen sometimes at traditional Japanese festivals, the ‘secret treasure’ museums and in some contemporary art works. Rokudenashiko believes that the vagina is overly hidden compared to the penis. She started working on this theme because she wants to liberate women from thinking of their vaginas as a dirty image. Her intention is to liberate women to become more open and uninhabited over their vaginas, and thus, equalize males and females. Her trial started in April 2015. She and a group of attorneys denied obscenity charges and argued censorship of artistic expression and Japan’s double standards. Pornographic cartoons are numerous in Japan, why were her works of arts selected for punishment?

In March 2015, there was a symposium organized by The Coming Society in Hong Kong. There was a presentation about the Rokudenashiko incident by Ai Kano, PhD student at the Tokyo University of Fine Art. At the post-symposium dinner, a member of the audience, the Hong Kong based designer and a farmer Michael Leung, said "We should do an exhibition for her in Hong Kong!”

At the table there were several people from Woofer Ten, including Professor Mouri of the Tokyo University of the Arts and Hitomi Hasegawa, Hong Kong based Japanese curator. They decided to do an exhibition for her. Ms Hasegawa created the concept and selected some artists, and Lee Chun Fung, an artist and initiator of Woofer Ten, added several emerging artists from Hong Kong.

More about this project

There are several issues raised by Rokudenashiko's case such as: censorship, infringement of freedom of expression: Japanese legal issues (conflicts of the Article 175 and the Article 21, concerning freedom of expression): digital art, internet issues, new technology such as 3D data, printing and obscenity: feminism, feminist art, including how genitalia has been applied to visual art.

Rokudenashiko uses her vagina as the main theme of her art, and believes that her art helps to heighten women's self esteem and create gender equality. The project will start by gathering some works relating to genitalia. The works (by Aida, Rokudenashiko, Suzuki, Lam, Man, and Leung) will examine why those art works about genitalia are made and how they vary in concepts such as identity, political provocation, sexuality, an aesthetic point of view and so on.

Secondly, feminist art is usually a rare category of art in Asia, and not many exhibitions on the theme have taken place in the past. We would like to align the works within a feminist context in Hong Kong and Japan, and consider whether the artists think they are feminists or not. Feminism is not a unified ideology, and several groups have different ideas. The exhibition includes different concepts of feminism, from different points of view; from 'Lipstick Feminism' (Robot, Sputniko!) to the more classical ideal of liberating woman from oppression (Suzuki, Man, Rokudenashiko). 

Gender issues in the digital world are an emerging issue. Some of the works deal with sexual desire and body politics in internet culture (Suzuki, Lam, Chan), which relates to our theme as Rokudenashiko was arrested for distributing her 3D vagina data.

How your funds would be used?

We will use your help to invite some artists and experts, including Rokudenashiko, to create a dialogue and discussion. And to realize the exhibition, we need:

• Airfare and accommodation costs for the artists and talk guests,
• Installation and exhibition cost,
• Insurance, transportation, and  personnel cost,
• Venue fees for exhibition and events,
• Documentation cost,
• Catalogue design and printing,
• Equipment rental fees (as we have several videos).

Why should you support us?

We are highly dependent on volunteer work as Woofer Ten is an independent organisation run by artists and activists. Due to the controversial content of this exhibition, it is difficult for us to get any public or institutional funding. 

Again, it is important to let people know what is happening in Japan. Many members of the LGBT community, including Ryudai Takano, Leslie Kee and Mao Sugiyama, have been warned or arrested under the Obscenity Law in the last three years. 

In Hong Kong people are very aware of the authoritative interventions used against freedom of expression due to the Umbrella Movement and its aftermath. It would be important and intriguing to inform what is happening in Japan now through this exhibition.

Thanks for your time and please consider helping us. If you cannot, please spread the link to your friends and talk about the exhibition. Thank you!

More information about Rokudenshiko here:

Japanese artist goes on trial over 'vagina selfies'
April 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/15/ja...

Japan charges Tokyo 'vagina artist' with obscenity
December 2014
www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30595378