About 'The Incomplete Momotaro: Sacred Sailor (IV)', 2024
The work responses to the file: Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (桃太郎 海の神兵, Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei), released in 1945. It is the first Japanese feature-length animated film – a World War II film comissioned by the Japanese Naval Ministry. (Source: Wikipedia). Borrowing from the film’s depiction of lush and picturesque landscapes of Japan, this artwork mimics a small Japanese garden (blend of traditional and Zen garden) complete with a waterfall. It intersects visions of geography; landscape and home – linking political ideology to the idea of space. Also critical, is the involvement of a production team in Japan who will construct the garden. Momotaro: Sacred Sailors omits details of war-time agony – does not depict any spilling of blood. Subverting the production method of such animations, the work attempts to fill in the missing details through the use of black acrylic paint – media used in creating the film. A song extracted from the film is also featured and on-loop in this installation. Momotaro: Sacred Sailors is available on Youtube.
A gardener, Masataka Namba (second from the left), engages in conversation with artist Anthony Chin (right) in front of the artwork.