KANAGUSUKU Taro
Born: around 1888 – Died: 1 August 1945
Particulars:
Taro was born in Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. His wife was living in Nakagami Gun in Okinawa Prefecture while he was working as a farmer in Kanaky / New Caledonia. When the Pacific War broke out, Taro was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. In August 1944, he was admitted to hospital with Hodgkin disease but was also diagnosed as suffering from lymphatic sarcoma. He was admitted to hospitals numerous times until his death just before the end of the war. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Riona Griffiths and Goro Griffiths
Artist/s Statement:
Kanagusuku Taro had a wife and he was a farmer. I imagined that he would have talked and reminisced with his wife about Okinawa’s calm ocean, flowers, and be nostalgic for Okinawan daily life. I expressed those feelings as if they were being carried far away. And this artwork was created by my baby son also. He expressed the couple by his tiny hands.
Artist Bio:
Riona Griffiths was born in Okinawa and grew up in Nakaima, Naha City, Japan. She moved to Australia in 2023, and now lives with her family and enjoys parenting. Goro is her son.