Whitney Biennial 2026

In the mid-1970s, when Mao Ishikawa took the photographs in the series Red Flower (Akabanaa), the United States military had a significant presence in Okinawa. The island had only recently been transferred back to Japan after decades of US occupation following World War II. Here Ishikawa pictures women—including herself—who worked in bars frequented by military service members. By focusing on Black soldiers, Ishikawa explores the intimacy and solidarity that developed between marginalized individuals from different countries.