Why was the "Exhibition of Non-Freedom of Expression: Thereafter" cancelled?

WHY WAS THE “EXHIBIT OF NON-FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION-THEREAFTER” CANCELED?, BY MIYUU

Author: Miyuu

A first-year student at the University of Tsukuba

This essay was granted permission for publication on December 21, 2021.

According to a HuffPost article, the “Exhibit of Non-Freedom of Expression・Thereafter” displayed works that had been withdrawn from other art exhibitions for one reason or another. As soon as the exhibition started, some of the works caused a huge fire on the Internet, which led to an inspection by the mayor of Nagoya. As a result, the exhibition was canceled within three days of its opening (Ikuta, 2019).

As I mentioned above, the works on display were those that were not allowed to be exhibited in the past. The reasons varied from piece to piece, some for political reasons, some because they were blasphemous. Most of the reasons were unilateral, and even some of the exhibits were canceled without the knowledge of the artists (Inoue, 2021). The “Non-Free Expression Exhibition” was created to make such “violations of freedom of expression” visible and to provide a place for those violated to express themselves.

I think there are two things that have caused this uproar. One is the method of display. This has been mentioned in the subsequent review committee meetings. The committee stated that “the work itself was appropriate, but there were problems with the curation* and communication to visitors (Aichi prefecture, 2019). According to the report, the works that caused the conflagration were not properly displayed or adequately explained in the exhibition, even though the potential for misunderstanding was expected. Considering the context in which this exhibition was created, I believe that the planners should have given this point the utmost importance.

The other is the morality and literacy of visitors. According to the committee’s investigation report, one of the triggers for the online flare-up was the posting of fragmentary photos of the work on SNS. Even though photos of the exhibition were not allowed to be posted on SNS except for a few, there were several visitors who broke the ban. In addition, some of the criticisms were based on a misunderstanding of the message of the work. An example is the “Peace Statue.” The statue was never meant to express dislike for the Japanese government. The exhibition’s website explains that it was created as a memorial to honor and carry on the will of the “comfort women” victims and their fight for women’s rights (Aichi prefecture, 2019). However, on the Internet, the work was often referred to as a “comfort woman statue” and the original expression of peace was ignored. There may have been problems on the part of the planners as stated earlier, but I believe that the people who receive the expressions also need to have the will and ability to take a correct understanding.

For freedom of expression, we need the right way to convey and the right way to receive. Based on this, I think that in order to increase the freedom of expression in Japan, we should get more opportunities to learn how to interpret art and other forms of expression. I have not learned much myself, so I will try to learn it myself first.

*Curation…To select the works to be displayed and the method of display in a museum or exhibition.

Works Cited:

• 愛知県. 「表現の不自由展・その後」に関する 調査報告書. 2021.

• 表現の不自由展 実行委員会. “キム・ソギョン／キム・ウンソン.” 表現の不自由展・その後, https://censorship.social/artists/kim-seo-kyung-kim-eun-sung/. Accessed 30 January 2022.

• Ikuta, Aya. “「表現の不自由展」は、どんな内容だったのか？ 昭和天皇モチーフ作品の前には人だかりも《現地詳細ルポ》.” ハフポスト, 5 August 2019, https://www.huffingtonpost.jp/entry/aichitriennale-report_jp_5d43c7eae4b0ca604e2fb0fe. Accessed 30 January 2022.

• Inoue, Shoji. “「表現の不自由展・その後」名古屋での再展示は中止、東京は会場変更できず延期、大阪は開催.” OutermostNAGOYA 名古屋×アート、舞台、映像…, 2021, https://www.outermosterm.com/freedom-of-expression-re-exhibition2021/. Accessed 30 January 2022.