"SEOD" is a painting inspired by the sub-culture known as weeaboo, which is a pejorative term used to describe Western (mostly millennial) fascination with Japanese culture. The cartoon portion of the work depicts an individual breaking down over their inability to understand the written Japanese language, which I also intended to be seen as a metaphor for the mendacious nature of communication in general. Overlying this image is the phrase, "SPEAK ENGLISH OR DIE," which is taken from the punk/thrash band Stormtroopers of Death, who used the line as a catch-phrase for belligerent nihilism. I have been interested in this line for years, as it can be seen to inhabit many roles-- that of blatant imperialism but also a self-deprecating mockery of blind power
The Japanese text which the protagonist in the painting holds is a list of various forms of cuteness, from erotic to grotesque. The intricacies of these slang phrases stood for me as a symbol of the difficulty in translating ideas across cultures--the protagonist of the painting fetishizes what he regards as an ideal culture, but it is really his own concept of foreignness that he holds dear-- he uses his projection of exotic ideals to affirm his own psyche, but feels frustrated when this does not align with reality. Central to the piece is a confrontation with the fallible essence of communication, as well as the combative outcome of an overpoweringly fantastical relationship to ideals.