TAKAZATO Doge
髙里
Born: 1873 – Died: 7 June 1945
Particulars:
Doge was born in Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. He was a widower with a daughter living in Okinawa. He was working as an employee in Kanaky / New Caledonia when the Pacific War broke out. He was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. Two years later, he was admitted to the 64 Australian Camp Hospital with asthmatic bronchitis but died a couple of months later, aged 72. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Nicole Henry
Artist/s Statement:
This artwork draws on imagery from the three places Takazato Doge was known to have lived, namely his birthplace of Okinawa, Japan; New Caledonia; and his final resting place, Australia.
The imagery includes Takazato’s burial plaque in Cowra, New South Wales, overlaid with a rising sun embellished with motifs from an Okinawan textile pattern, as well as his name presented in kanji. A map of Okinawa is rendered as a constellation in the large Australian sky, framed by a river red gum. The image also includes flora endemic to New Caledonia (strasburgiaceae) and the Deigo tree (left), found across many subtropical regions, and later named the official flower of Okinawa Prefecture. Lastly, the garden created at Loveday by Japanese internees is included – a modest but poignant symbol of enduring connection to home.
Artist Bio:
Nicole Henry is an emerging artist based on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra, Australia, who works in print based mediums, and began exhibiting in 2023. She has degrees in Philosophy and Art History from The Australian National University and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. She worked for over 30 years in government arts portfolios, and is currently completing studies in visual arts.