Katsuko Ishigaki
By Reuben Keehan
‘11th Asia Pacific Triennial’ August 2024
Katsuko Ishigaki
Born 1967, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan
Lives and works in Naha and Okinawa City, Okinawa
Katsuko Ishigaki’s panoramas are dominated by vibrant blues, greens and whites, capturing the colours of Okinawa’s sea, sky, vegetation and towns. For all their sunny tones, they also document the interventions of global politics in the landscape, with American and Japanese military installations positioned in sobering proximity to places where people live, study and work.
For the Triennial, Ishigaki has created a new suite of paintings taking in the areas surrounding Air Station Futenma, a major United States military airbase in Okinawa, as well as the artist’s home island of Ishigaki. Inevitably attracting attention for their sunny tones, Ishigaki’s landscapes linger in the mind for the strangeness of their contrasts and frankness of their depictions.
This project is assisted by the Ishibashi Foundation and the National Center for Art Research, Japan.

Katsuko Ishigaki's View of Henoko-Oura Bay from Sedake Hill II and View of Henoko-Oura Bay from Sedake Hill 2024, installed at QAG for the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial, September 2024 / Oil on canvas / Commissioned for APT!! / Courtesy and © Katsuko Ishigaki / Photograph: C Callistemon, QAGOMA
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