A Japanese artist, who goes by the name of Rokudenashiko, has been arrested in relation to recent art project of hers in which she created a kayak that was shaped like a vagina, her vagina to be exact. As strange as this may seem, this isn’t even Rokudenashiko’s first foray into vagina-themed art. In fact, she specializes in it. The vagina-kayak is simply her largest piece, and arguably the most famous thanks to her recent arrest. She has also created much smaller pieces like dioramas, iPhone cases, and small sculptures. Her real name is Megumi Igarashi and she is currently being held in Tokyo for allegedly sending images of her vagina for money. The case, however, is much more complicated than that.
Because the vagina-kayak was much larger than her previous projects, Rokudenashiko needed a lot of money to make it a reality. She turned to online crowdsourcing to acquire the money. Rokudenashiko wrote on her campaign’s page that she seeks funding to make her art anatomically precise. “It is extremely difficult to make precise mold. Even when successful, silicone mold will gradually deteriorate, which makes mass production difficult.” Those who donated money to the project, called “Pussy Boat”, received a 3D-scanned image of Rokudenashiko’s own vagina. The 3D images was instrumental in the creation of the Pussy Boat. She simply made the rendering, expanded it to the size of a kayak, and then used it as a model for the Pussy Boat.
Unfortunately, it was the selling of the 3D image that lead to her arrest. The 42-year-old artist was arrested by Tokyo Metropolitan Police for breaking obscenity laws. It’s interesting to note that the laws she supposedly broke are over a century old, dating back to 1907, which prohibit the display of genitalia. “I cannot understand why the police recognize the 3D data as obscene material,” Rokudenashiko said. The question this arrest raises, obviously, is what can be defined as obscenity, especially in regard to self-scanning, 3D printing, and art. No rational person would mistake Igarashi’s work with pornography but, clearly, she is not dealing with rational people. In the end, control over her body and her image is solely hers and, I suspect, art will win out. Read more about this story here.
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