OGUSHIKU Shohatsu
Born: 15 April 1875 – Died: 28 August 1942
Particulars:
Shohatsu was born in Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. He was a single man working as a miner in Kanaky / New Caledonia. When the Pacific War broke out, he was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He was admitted to the camp hospital later in the year with a ruptured aneurism of the aorta. He died on the same day. He was 77. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery, Cowra in New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
John Taggart with Yasue Taggart
Artist/s Statement:
I painted this artwork imagining the sun and sky, once a constant, now spiralling in a state of flux over a once peaceful landscape. One can never know what tomorrow will bring. It is also a reminder of how my life changed by taking the chance to visit Okinawa, as the winds of change blow in many directions.
My wife, Yasue, wrote Shohatsu Ogushiku’s name in Japanese. She also checked his life number from numerology by his birthday with a common hibiscus flower in Okinawa and drew it with his age.
Artist Bio:
John Taggart was born in Newcastle in Australia, and grew up in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. He is a librarian and has always had an appreciation of history, nature, and the sea. John is married to Yasue, who is from Okinawa, Japan.