In our society, there are many misconceptions about sexual violence, or so-called the myths of sexual violence. It is often difficult for victims to gain understanding from people, and as a result many of them feel isolated.
We created the Wing Mask as a prop for our performance art piece. We chose a wing as the symbol of the campaign, because we believe that the problem of sexual violence concerns everyone and anyone can support victims through the campaign.
The motif of a single wing suggests that it needs the other wing to fly, and the other wing is your support and that is what is needed to solve the problem.
The Wing Mask is made of a white paper and a turquoise blue ribbon. On the back of each mask, the participants of the Believe campaign workshops wrote their messages on the theme of sexual violence and the revision of penal code.
Believe March
Believe March is a street performance art piece by Tomorrow Girls Troop and took place on January 29th, 2016. The participants wore the Wing Masks, presented a dance performance and marched in front of the Diet building to deliver their voice to politicians. The group also performed at Akamon Gate of Tokyo University, which is the symbol of Japanese universities and where a campus rape occurred, as campus sexual assault has become a serious issue in the recent years.
The concepts of the performance are empowerment, connection, support, listening, giving voice and solidarity. The performance adopted the gestures of holding hands, smile and joining together.
Socially Engaged Arts Exhibition
The Believe March and the Wing Masks were exhibited at Socially Engaged Arts Exhibition at Arts Chiyoda 3331. Also, we held a community space Joshi-ryoku Cafe (Girls Power Cafe), where those who are interested in the problems of sexual violence can speak with the members of Tomorrow Girls Troops to understand the issues better, and can share their experiences and opinions.
Wing Masks Message Project
Tomorrow Girls Troop created a performance art piece the Belive March to protest against sexual violence.
There are hand-written messages on the back of each paper mask, which were used as props in the Believe March. The participants of the Believe campaign events wrote their thoughts and opinions to protest against sexual violence. In the Believe March, the members wore the masks and walked around the city of Tokyo, which means the messages are passed and supported from person to person.
