Tokyo Olympics
2020 ⟫
Photo Series
Tokyo Olympics 2020
Photo Series (selected)
These are some samples of a photo series I created based around the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
There had been a long anticipated build up to this event happening in Tokyo. However due to the Corona virus pandemic, the games were posponed until the following year 2021. Despite the gap, the event and paraphernalia continued to be marked as Tokyo Olympics 2020 where they had remained frozen creating a kind of time warp.
The Tokyo Olympics also reminded me of a difficult period when I had trained as a hurdler at the Western Australian institute of sport during my teenage years, and because of this, had been invited to run in the torch relay leading up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Although I hadn’t thought it so significant at the time, my later self thought it could be interesting to run in the relay in Japan as well so that I would in affect have run in both countries.
I also later noticed that the Olympic torch was in the shape of a sakura (cherry flower) when viewed from above, the flower of my namesake. This further ignited my performative, and creative thinking into a compulsion. Continued ⟫
Experiencing different kinds of social pressures myself I also felt that it was a personal relay to say hi I am here and I’m doing this even in this crazy time. Wearing athletic gear in different locations as well as viewing the different representations of women's bodies in the media, and art as well as daily life it became apparent as to how much the female form is judged.
I originally started out with a pop kind of attire and pink tracksuit with bright flower torch. My plan was to try to invite others to join in and collaborate in the project, however with the pandemic conditions continuing, and mixed attitudes at the time, the notion became rather difficult. I decided it was easier to just continue mainly as a solo project and see what might happen. With mask and torch in hand my appearance could at once be seen as positive or funny whilst adversarial to others, depending on their own projections. In a way it was a reminder of the mass feelings of hopelessness and the awkwardness of the time.
The Japanese word “seika” for torch although with different kanji characters, doubles as a homonym for the word “seika” meaning a freshly cut flower like those used in ikebana flower arranging. Although this word usage is not so common, I later became more conscious of the parallel and continued the relay through summer and past the Olympics and Paralympics into autumn and winter. Carrying a fresh flower, and feeling myself to be a living flower, and connecting to the changing trees, despite the difficult times, I could find solace in nature.