Despite being half a world away, Carol Pollock was still touched after seeing a newspaper story about the odd kidnapping of a Japanese girl. The story of Megumi Yokota, one of at least 13 Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has circulated around the world.
Pollack saw a photo of the story in a Canadian newspaper and was inspired to do a collection of paintings. “I was really moved by it – just the surrealness of it, the idea of a child being ripped from her family.”
The paintings will come together in a show called “Megumi Cycle: Paintings by Carol Pollock” this fall in Bracebridge. Pollock gathered as much information she could fi nd about Megumi Yokota and her story.
Megumi Yokota was abducted on Nov. 15, 1977 at the age of 13 on her way home from school. She was apparently forced to help train North Korean spies to pass as Japanese citizens. For 20 years her parents had no idea what happened to her.
In 2002, North Korea admitted that Megumi and others had been abducted. They claimed, however, that Megumi had committed suicide on March 13, 1994. Family members in Japan dispute that claim and many believe Megumi is still alive in North Korea. Megumi married and had a daughter in North Korea before her apparent suicide.
Pollock, who has never visited Japan, said the show will be based on her research. “It’s based on a handful of photos and stories – it’s all really seen through western eyes.” She admits it was diffi cult to fi nd many photos of Megumi, and that the exhibition will include paintings of rice fields where Megumi grew up, paintings of her daughter and food. “It’s mostly fi gurative work,” Pollock remarked.
Megumi Cycle is an investigation of issues such as lost youth, family, motherhood and marriage, along with the cultural signifiers that define our daily lives and relationships. The story of Megumi fit in with Pollock’s artistic focus of the moment: the lives of women and children.
Pollock’s mother passed away last September after a 20 month-long illness. While she had been working on the topic of women and children before her mother’s passing, the journey has been an experience. “You really learn and grow (when you lose a loved one).” Now painting in her mother’s large room, Pollack is enjoying the space to spread out. She is currently painting in acrylics. The Megumi Cycle is presented by Muskoka Arts and Crafts and will be at the Chapel Gallery, 15 King St., Bracebridge from Oct. 18 to Nov. 8.