I have a piece up in another Falls Church Arts exhibition this month, Wild. This is one of them: Paradise or Bust!
The markings on the woman’s hand are hajichi, traditional Okinawan women’s tattoos that were banned by the Japanese soon after they began force-assimilating the Okinawan people. I would like to get some myself some day.
The circles on her hands represent a sort of gateway, or ticket if you will, to paradise in Okinawan tradition. Which is funny to me, because getting to Paradise was a pretty big deal in the doomsday cult I recently left - the big deal, in fact. Finding out about this method of Paradise-barging right after I realized I wouldn’t be getting to the Paradise described in the Bible seemed fortuitous.
Leaving the cult has left its scars, but it’s also opened up a lot of paths for me: making more art, pushing what I get to make in my art, motivating me to exhibit my artwork, and more. It’s felt pretty good.
Anyway, here’s the flyer for the Wild show, where you can see this and two other pieces I made. I’ll be at the gallery on Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd - the show’s closing weekend - if you’d like to stop by and say hello.