I pity you
By Minami Ivory
Artist Bio
Minami Ivory was born and raised in Hokkaido, Japan, and moved to Australia at the age of 15. She currently resides in lutruwita, where she is a photographic artist and an art educator. 
 
 Her works are drawn from notions of cultural identity and issues on Japanese women in the society. Minami has exhibited both nationally and internationally.
Artist Statement / Description of artwork
‘I pity you’, from the series Weapon of choice, challenges the systematic abuse of women in Japanese society through the revisiting a summer of violence that I experienced at the age of fourteen.
 
 
 The images within this series border the present as well as the past. They are visual representations of living with trauma: of moving between consciousness and subconsciousness, resisting and remembering. These representations question and confront patriarchalism in Japanese society, often said to be one of the safest societies in the world.
 
 
 While the subject is haunting and at times difficult to represent, Weapon of choice also celebrates the resilience of the human spirit, acting as a vehicle for protest.