Ants Plus "FUNI"

My first photography work “Like Ants” (2019) attempted to depict myself as ants. I have difficulties in communications with others for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Disorder, and it made my work introverted. It is my encounter with Japan-born Korean 2.5 generation hip-hop musician Funi who brought me a chance to seriously face with others. Funi was born between Japan-born Korean second generation father and Chang Yong-suk, his mother who migrated to Japan in 1980s from South Korea. Funi received a strict upbringing by his mother, and he thinks it aroused him a rebellious spirit. Japan-born Koreans called ‘Zainichi’ are descendent of Koreans who migrated or forced to move to Japan during colonial period, and often becomes target of racism in contemporary Japan. In order for Funi to be able to fight back against such social conditions, his mother wished him to be tough enough to survive. Having brought up with disorders, I was also brought up in similar conditions and my experiences intersect with those of Funi. We are both like ants who are often stepped on by others without being realized. Although, we are both like ants huddling together through odor sensing systems. In this work, I focused on the ‘smell’ to describe intersections among various minority groups and sought for an alternative understanding of our living world.