Akira the Hustler

Akira the Hustler
ハスラーアキラ
Born
Yukio Cho (張 由紀夫)

1969 (age 54–55)
Tokyo, Japan
NationalityJapanese
EducationKyoto City University of Arts

Yukio Cho (Japanese: 張 由紀夫, Hepburn: Chō Yukio, born 1969), known professionally as Akira the Hustler (ハスラーアキラ, Hasurā Akira), is a Japanese artist, writer, actor, activist, and former sex worker.

Biography

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Yukio Cho was born in 1969 in Tokyo, Japan.[1] He grew up in Germany, living there from age two until age eight after his father moved to the country for work, before his family resettled in Kobe.[2] He studied oil painting at the Kyoto City University of Arts, earning a bachelor's degree in 1992 and a master's degree in 1995.[1] As a university student, Cho became involved with campaigns to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Japan, and to reduce stigma against those with the disease.[2]

He took the pseudonym "Akira" while working as a call boy for an escort agency while living in Kyoto.[3] He would later return to Tokyo to work as an escort independently, advertising his services through gay men's magazines; he would later write a column for G-men, one of the most notable gay magazines in Japan in the late 1990s.[3] Along with BuBu de la Madeleine (formerly BuBu the Whore) and Mikado the Dominatrix, Akira the Hustler was a founding member of the Biters,[a] a performance art group whose members were both artists and sex workers.[4] The group's exhibition Donai yanen (lit. "So What"), which was inspired by their experiences in the sex industry, was shown at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1998,[1] Ota Fine Arts in 1999, and the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art in 2000.[4] His autobiography A Whore Diary, which chronicles several of his encounters with his clients, was published by Isshi Press in 2000.[5]

In 2003, he helped found the Akta Community Centre, a sexual health clinic and counseling center in Shinjuku Ni-chōme.[6] He served as its director until 2011.[2][7]

Works

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Akira the Hustler works in multiple mediums, including performance, photography, video, sculpture, and painting.[8] His works often deal with themes of self-identity and social issues, such as LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS, and racism,[9] typically using outwardly bright and cheerful imagery to convey a more serious message.[10] He has become an outspoken critic of nuclearization following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, with anti-nuclearization becoming a prominent subject of his work and activism.[2][9]

Exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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  • 2000: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan – "Akira the Hustler"[1]
  • 2001: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan – "Akira the Hustler"[1]
  • 2004: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan – "Akira the Hustler"[1]
  • 2008: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan – "Living Together"[1]
  • 2012: Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan – "Ordinary Life"[11]
  • 2013: Tac's Knot, Tokyo, Japan – "Let's go to the river"[1]

Group exhibitions

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Public collections

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Filmography

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Further reading

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  • Akira the Hustler (2000). 売男日記 [A Whore Diary] (in Japanese). Isshi Press. ISBN 9784900398351.

Notes

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  1. ^ A pun on bite, the Japanese word for prostitute.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Akira the Hustler". Ota Fine Arts. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Udagawa, Shigeru (28 April 2018). "LGBTQがあらゆるマイノリティと連帯していくべき理由。美術作家ハスラー・アキラさんと考える". HuffPost Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b Micollier, Evelyne (19 December 2003). Sexual Cultures in East Asia: The Social Construction of Sexuality and Sexual Risk in a Time of AIDS. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415308717.
  4. ^ a b c Lloyd, Fran (3 February 2004). Consuming Bodies: Sex and Contemporary Japanese Art. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1861891471.
  5. ^ McLelland, Mark; Suganuma, Katsuhiko; Welker, James (26 March 2007). Queer Voices from Japan: First Person Narratives from Japan's Sexual Minorities. Lexington Books. pp. 313–315. ISBN 978-0739108659.
  6. ^ Cho, Yukio (10 July 2009). "akta Diary 2009.07". LGBT Special Features (in Japanese). NHK. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  7. ^ Herbst, Tara. "Interview with Akira The Hustler". Assembly International. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  8. ^ Kolbeins, Graham. "Photographs, performances, sculptures, video and drawing by Akira the Hustler". Gay Manga!. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b "アキラ・ザ・ハスラー + チョン・ユギョン「パレードへようこそ」". Bijutsu Techo (in Japanese). 26 April 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Akira the Hustler + Jong YuGyong "Welcome to the Parade"". Tokyo Art Beat. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Akira the Hustler: Ordinary Life @ OTA FINE ARTS". ARTiT Tokyo. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  12. ^ "SLOGAN". ARTiT Tokyo. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Be there @ OTA FINE ARTS". ARTiT Tokyo. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Welcome to the Parade @ Ota Fine Arts". ARTiT Tokyo. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Bye-Bye 'Over the Rainbow'/Akira the Hustler". Habakari Cinema Records. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
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