Welcome to the Parade: Akira the Hustler + Jong YuGyong

Ota Fine Arts is pleased to announce "Welcome to the Parade", a duo exhibition by Akira The Hustler (b. 1969) and Jong YuGyong (b. 1991). While Akira was already attracting attention as a young artist during his studies at Kyoto City University of Arts, Jong was just born in Kobe around the same time. These two artists from seemingly disparate generations have something in common: they both belong to minority groups that could sometimes be subject to prejudice and discrimination. Akira is a homosexual man, and Jong is a third-generation Zainichi-Korean (ethnic Korean residing in Japan). Their artworks, which express themes of self-identity, are often perceived as dealing with "social" issues. Yet, such perception is but a mirror that reflects the insensitivity of the social majority. As much as this exhibition is visually bright and fun, it also reaches out to the audience about the difficulties of "ordinary" living and the narrow mindedness of the society to impose such standards.