The Ocean View Resort, centers on a man as he visits his home on an Okinawan island. Narrated in my English, the video follows the man as he takes a walk along the beach and meets an old friend, Y, whom he had fallen in love with – unrequited and untold – during his teenage years. Y recalls the events that transpired on the beach during and after the war, and also of his late grandfather who, back in 1945, shared a fleeting moment of intimacy with a young American soldier as they listened to one of Beethoven’s string quartets. The video work shifts from a tale of teenage love to a cruel yet half-forgotten act committed by a group of Japanese soldiers during the war, while referencing the seemingly romantic relationship between men from Okinawa and America at a time of great disturbance and inhumanity. It is also an attempt to deal with my memories of being an Okinawan teenager who had not yet come out, along with details of the island’s gruesome history that I discovered myself (having never heard such stories from Okinawan elders) and memories of America, the nation that I had once yearned for, resided in, and later departed.

At Raum1F
5-39-12 Jingumae Shibuya-ku Tokyo
Dates:December 4th(Wed)-20th(Fri)

 

______________________________________

American Boyfriend Project
Curation: Hikotaro Kanehira, PR: Maho Masuzaki, Design: Toshimasa Kimura