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 I am a migrant of Japanese origin. For the first time since my migration to in 1981, I walked on the Australian dessert to reflect on my life in this country. Would You Mind If I Settle Here is a video style art, which reflects my migrant psyche whilst walking through the Australian terrain.
I had heard that the red Australian terrain was the blood of a dingo that had died to save its people. I had heard that many Indigenous Australians died when the Europeans invaded this land. I had heard that many Australians, both white and black, had fought against the Japanese to save this land. I thought of invasions and bloodshed, and all these matters, whilst walking through the dessert, and finally, I remembered that I had yet to ask the question, “ Would you mind, if I settle here?”
In Alice Springs, police vehicles drove onto the bed of the Todd River. I walked on the sandy bed and said hello to people sitting under trees. Sometimes the police spoke to these people too. I saw the people stand up and walk away – somewhere, off the river- bed. The policemen would then get back into their car, drive on the river bed, and approach another group of people sitting under another tree. They too, walked away. I watched this every day for eight days, and finally, I realised that I had yet to ask the question, “ Would you mind, if I settle here?”
Would You Mind If I Settle Here is an attempt  to begin a dialogue between a migrant from a country with colonial history and the custodians of the land migrated to. It is a request for migration, an apology for the past, an admission of its belatedness, and a prayer for reconciliation.
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