Untitled (Fumio), 2024, installation
Fabric, thread, toy stuffing, pin and ribbon
15 x 8 x 6cm each

---

This work was inspired by the Japanese custom of photographing new Cabinets on the steps at the time of their inauguration, a ritual that formally marks the launch of an administration. Such photographs are taken each time a new Cabinet is formed or reshuffled, which in Japan can occur quite frequently, sometimes every year or even several times within a year depending on political circumstances.

The plush figures are arranged in the same order as the male and female politicians in 2023, the year that saw the highest number of female bureaucrats in Japan’s history. 

By translating this rigid political tableau into soft, playful forms, the work both mirrors and subverts the spectacle of power. The use of plush introduces humor and vulnerability into a setting usually dominated by seriousness and control, prompting viewers to consider how authority is represented and how gender is made visible within it.