I stitch my skin to the ground
Screen capture 1 | Credits: Nao Usami
Screen capture 2 | Credits: Nao Usami
Screen capture 3 | Credits: Nao Usami
Screen capture 4 | Credits: Nao Usami
Exhibition view 1 | Credits: Photo: KATO Ken, Photo courtesy of Tokyo Arts and Space
Exhibition view 2 | Credits: Nao Usami
Exhibition view 3 | Credits: Photo: KATO Ken, Photo courtesy of Tokyo Arts and Space
This project is composed of two video games Replay over and over (2023) and Ambiguous Lucy (2021). The story is based on accounts of people who have experienced sexual violence in the past that turned their bodies into “objects”. They embark on journeys to look for new bodies.
Replay over and over (2023) has an important interaction. If the main character is harmed, the operation is disabled, and the character becomes unable to move. The discordance between the player’s intention (the operation of the controller) and the character’s behavior turns into a realistic experience of sexual abuse. This physical reaction is called “tonic immobility”. Just like a victim of sexual abuse, the player is forced into the unreasonable situation of being unable to move as they want or to scream out. Day after day, they have to ride a crowded train, and their bodies are put in the name of the game jeopardy. Also the trauma plays many times in their heads. It is indeed like playing the same game over and over again. They attempt to peel off their touched skin and dive into water to transform.
In Ambiguous Lucy (2021), lots of shed skin is scattered everywhere. These are pupae after the face and body parts are taken off, to prevent the body from being judged as female in public space. At the end of this story, the main character selects a new body to combine from three options, such as machines, plants, or stones. These three options represent inorganic and organic matter, stillness and motion, and length of life. The name of the game evokes “Lucy”, the name given to a 3.18 million-year-old fossil skeleton believed to be that of an early female Australopithecus.
This story was created based on my own experiences, as well as those of my friends and others illustrated in several novels. They hate their own bodies, hurt them, and love them. They are longing to change, but their bodies with bandages continue to live. For this very reason, they continue their creative activities.
This project is composed of two video games Replay over and over (2023) and Ambiguous Lucy (2021). The story is based on accounts of people who have experienced sexual violence in the past that turned their bodies into “objects”. They embark on journeys to look for new bodies.
Replay over and over (2023) has an important interaction. If the main character is harmed, the operation is disabled, and the character becomes unable to move. The discordance between the player’s intention (the operation of the controller) and the character’s behavior turns into a realistic experience of sexual abuse. This physical reaction is called “tonic immobility”. Just like a victim of sexual abuse, the player is forced into the unreasonable situation of being unable to move as they want or to scream out. Day after day, they have to ride a crowded train, and their bodies are put in the name of the game jeopardy. Also the trauma plays many times in their heads. It is indeed like playing the same game over and over again. They attempt to peel off their touched skin and dive into water to transform.
In Ambiguous Lucy (2021), lots of shed skin is scattered everywhere. These are pupae after the face and body parts are taken off, to prevent the body from being judged as female in public space. At the end of this story, the main character selects a new body to combine from three options, such as machines, plants, or stones. These three options represent inorganic and organic matter, stillness and motion, and length of life. The name of the game evokes “Lucy”, the name given to a 3.18 million-year-old fossil skeleton believed to be that of an early female Australopithecus.
This story was created based on my own experiences, as well as those of my friends and others illustrated in several novels. They hate their own bodies, hurt them, and love them. They are longing to change, but their bodies with bandages continue to live. For this very reason, they continue their creative activities.
Directed, animated, and programmed: Nao Usami
Music: Chiho Oka
Voice: Manae Shimizu and Nao Usami
Trailer English subtitles: Hayley Scanlon, Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy
Nao Usami (JP) is an artist currently focused on game development using 3DCG technology. In her practice, she seeks to break free from social categorization. She vouches for games because of their ability to experience situations with other people, animals, creatures, and objects. Recent solo exhibitions: “TOKAS-Emerging 2023” at Tokyo Arts and Space / Recent group exhibitions: “Digital Art Festival Taipei 2023” at National Taiwan Science Education Cente, “Changwon International Sculpture Biennale 2022” / Screening: “Image Forum East Asian Experimental Competition 2023” at Theatre Image Forum.
Nao Usami (JP) is an artist currently focused on game development using 3DCG technology. In her practice, she seeks to break free from social categorization. She vouches for games because of their ability to experience situations with other people, animals, creatures, and objects. Recent solo exhibitions: “TOKAS-Emerging 2023” at Tokyo Arts and Space / Recent group exhibitions: “Digital Art Festival Taipei 2023” at National Taiwan Science Education Cente, “Changwon International Sculpture Biennale 2022” / Screening: “Image Forum East Asian Experimental Competition 2023” at Theatre Image Forum.
Usami's work transcends traditional game design by using interactivity to spotlight the serious problem of sexual harassment in Japan's public spaces and its effect on the survivors. It uniquely portrays survivors' disconnection from their bodies, rendering visceral imagery of characters leaving their own skin. By defying conventional gameplay norms, users symbolically rebuild their avatars, evoking 'reparative play'—a psychoanalytic concept of empowerment amid trauma. The experience prompts users to confront uncomfortable truths and fosters collective understanding, healing, and renewal through its blend of unconventional gameplay and narrative.
Usami's work transcends traditional game design by using interactivity to spotlight the serious problem of sexual harassment in Japan's public spaces and its effect on the survivors. It uniquely portrays survivors' disconnection from their bodies, rendering visceral imagery of characters leaving their own skin. By defying conventional gameplay norms, users symbolically rebuild their avatars, evoking 'reparative play'—a psychoanalytic concept of empowerment amid trauma. The experience prompts users to confront uncomfortable truths and fosters collective understanding, healing, and renewal through its blend of unconventional gameplay and narrative.