Shinji Nagabe Brazil, 1975
74 3/4 x 53 1/8 x 11 3/4 in
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Happy Ending explores the commercialization of sex and the fetishization of Latino and Asian bodies. In the first layers, the artist’s nude body appears with his face hidden by either an exotic flower or the portrait from Brazilian banknotes. Piranhas swim around him—symbols of violence and objectification—with the word Piranha stitched in red, a Brazilian insult often used for prostitutes. The third layer shows an underwater scene featuring a magazine called Latin Lovers, displaying muscular Latino men. The almost hidden fourth layer reveals large classified ads found in Spain, offering the services of Asian women labeled as “oriental,” pointing to the exploitation of foreign bodies in vulnerable situations. The words “Happy End” appear boldly in the first layer, referencing the “happy endings” often associated with certain massage parlors acting as fronts for prostitution.
