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- Dutch Photographer Jan Banning (b. 1954 from Dutch East Indies parents), who gained worldwide recognition with his book and exhibition Bureaucratics, has just completed a new book and exhibition: Comfort Women.
Banning’s new book deals with one of the common byproducts of war, the rape of women, by focusing on “comfort women” in Indonesia during World War II. Tens of thousands of “comfort women” in Asia were forced into prostitution at military brothels. The brothels were part of the Japanese military’s sex slavery system, aimed at providing relief for its troops. In addition, many girls were abused sexually in railroad wagons, factory warehouses or night after night at home. Most of these women have suffered physical and emotional consequences ever since.
With author Hilde Janssen, Banning visited Indonesian women who during the war were victims of forced sexual labor. In this book, 18 of them break the persistent taboo against speaking out on the issue. Presenting their portraits and voices in combination with Japanese war posters, the book shows male and female sides of war, and propaganda versus reality. Short narratives depict the fate of these and other former comfort women, painting a gripping picture of this hidden history.
Jan Banning’s earlier books include Traces of War: Survivors of the Burma and Sumatra Railways and Vietnam: Doi Moi. Among his many awards is a World Press Photo Award. Banning has exhibited throughout Europe, the United States (NY Photo Festival and OSI’s Moving Walls, among others) and elsewhere. His work has been published internationally and is in collections worldwide, including that of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum.
Hilde Janssen (b. 1959) is a journalist and anthropologist. For the past 15 years, she has lived and worked in Asia. From her base in Jakarta, Janssen traveled the Indonesian archipelago for two years searching for comfort women.
Ordering the book:
Comfort Women (ISBN 978-90-77386-07-1) is a co-publication of Ipso Facto (IF, The Netherlands) and Seltmann+Söhne (Germany). The book can be ordered via:
ipso-facto-order@solcon.nl
For information about renting the exhibition, contact Tina Keck at mail@tinakeck.de.
- Amira Fritz has some recent work on her website.
- Michael Shapcott has a new website.
- It’s called “Dirty Blond” and it’s a Slingerland from the 1920s with birdseye maple veneer on the sides. – Amy Crehore about her new work.
