A couple of days ago I joined up with my purikura partner in crime Maya Chinchilla to have lunch and get into some more trouble at Pikapika in Japantown. We enjoyed crepes and bought a couple of new pairs of sunglasses for the occasion. Maya suggested that we bring some social justice struggles into our concepts and decorations for the photos we were about to take.
Arriving at Pikapika we walked around to check out the new and recently repaired purikura booths they had on hand. We came across the image above of a purikura girl with digitally adorned indigenous trappings. I was surprised to see the semiotic plight of my indigenous brothers and sisters had already made its way to the art of purikura. I wonder what’s next?
Maya and I shot photos using two of our favorite booths, Viseei and Love Joker (Shiny Madonna theme, natch). Always the visionary, Maya came well prepared with props of sunglasses, books, and even stuffed animals. When it came time to decorate our photos Maya and I focused on the struggles taking place in Arizona but managed to work in a few other themes as well. Some highlights are below:
Peace and purikura y’all,
Rio
Oh Rio! So. Much. Fun. And so necessary in these trying times. I really needed that. And we sure have to make some quick decisions there. I’m glad we were able to make it happen. Very inspiring indeed. Thanks again for introducing me this medium of self expression. Keep up the fight. your friend, MC