Zettai Ryouiki (Absolute Territory Part 2)

Following my return from my cultural trip to Japan, my correspondent in Nagoya mentioned the Japanese cultural fashion of the Zettai Rouiki, drawn from Anime, and relating to the length of socks versus the length of the skirt hems worn by young Japanese women. The English translation of this is 'Absolute Territory'. As a gender-fluid artist, I was keen to interpret this fashion to produce an artwork. I have always loved the work of Italian artist Piero Manzoni, and he made a work entitled 'Magic Base'. I interpreted this as what is termed a 'soapbox', and so I constructed my own soapbox from plywood painted orange, which I entitled 'Base Magic'. Again, I asked my Nagoya correspondent to translate 'Base Magic' into kanji, which I rendered in the Japanese Railways font on the front of the work. I then accquired a selection of short to long socks, and a wonderful dress with flames on the front. I invited my professional photographer friend Alexander Brattell to come to my studio to document me performing the Zettai Ryouiki. This digital edition is the product of that day in 2017.