Adorable Imperialism
Artist's Statement:
With this piece, I wanted to explore how the image of Japan has transformed from a cruel imperialist to pop culture hub in a matter of a few decades. Even though art forms like manga have been entrenched in Japanese culture for a long time, it was only in the mid-20th century, post World War II, that Japan began to rebrand itself using their pop culture. The values embodied in many aspects of Japanese culture certainly deserve appreciation. Yet, we cannot erase the problematic war crimes committed during World War II from our collective consciousness. Those who forget history are likely to repeat it.
