Chang-jin Lee's "Comfort Women Wanted" will run at the Wood Street Galleries downtown from November 1 through December 1 (map). A profile of the exhibition on the galleries' website:
Comfort Women Wanted exposes the fates of nearly 200,000 young women who were exploited as sex slaves by the Imperial Japanese Army in Asia during World War II. The artist uses the remembrance of these “comfort women”—some of whom are still alive today—to increase awareness of sexual violence against women during wartime."Comfort Women Wanted" features both video and print works, and additional information is available on the artist's website. Lee's work was last in Pittsburgh in June when her "Floating Echo" was under a bridge at the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
“In Asia, the comfort women issue remains taboo and controversial, while at the same time, it is almost unknown in the West,” says artist Chang-Jin Lee. “The comfort women system is the largest case of human trafficking in the 20th century. Human trafficking is the fastest growing industry in the world, and the second largest business after arms dealing in the 21st century. So, the comfort women issue is not just about the past, but it is very relevant today.”