The Pig is Served, 2024, 270x265cm, Installation & Performance, Acrylic on Mixed Media
"Tokyo Olympics Official Resigns After Calling Plus-Size Celebrity ‘Olympig’ The departure came just a month after the president of the Tokyo organizing committee stepped down over a sexist remark." - The New York Times
The Pig is Served is a painting disguised as a billboard space. It's a statement about the female figure that elevates the story of plus-size celebrity, Naomi Watanabe. She's an entertainer that's loved by millions abroad yet the standards for the female body in Japan confine her from being seen as a legitimate figure. Soon after the "Olympig" insult made by an Olympics official, she posted this photograph of her posing on a dinner table. As part of the performance, I made rips into the photograph, revealing painterly marks that depict a feeling or emotion. The painting beneath is a representation of her bodily presence; a mosaic of colours and textures that transcend beyond what an image or headline can convey. With this work, I invite viewers to engage beyond surface-level information.
