The Japanese military “comfort women” have been a subject of transnational feminism that criticizes the patriarchy of war and talks about peace and a symbol connected to the unfinished issue, sexual violence against women.
At times, a single poster can speak more powerfully than a hundred-page book. Kyeol had a conversation with New York-based artist Chang-Jin Lee regarding her COMFORT WOMEN WANTED project and how art can shed light on questions of gender, identity, and memory.
This article foregrounds the long-overlooked sexual violence perpetrated against Jewish women during the Holocaust. It calls for fuller integration of survivors’ testimonies of sexual violence into our understanding of Holocaust history and prompts recognition of the ongoing reality of conflict-related sexual violence today.
In this interview with Kyeol, artist Chang-Jin Lee discusses the vision behind her work and the power of art to communicate, connect people, and inspire change.
Testimony and publishing activities concerning wartime sexual violence and “Comfort Women” carried out by the Association of Returnees from China (Chukiren), which atoned for their perpetrators’ actions in postwar Japanese society.