Rica Takashima's Et Cetera : February 2026

Something that is ordinary to one person can be a strange practice to others. At the same time, that strange practice can be exciting to yet another. Rica wants to express the differences between cultures as something fun and exciting, rather than as creating conflict and friction.

In 1995, Rica started drawing the semi-autobiographical Manga portraying everyday lives of lesbians, in Japan’s premier lesbian magazine at that time. She struggled with her sexuality since her young age, but there were no movies/novels with themed positive lesbian stories even in 1980s. Her questions towards traditional Japanese patriarchal family values and discrimination against LGBT motivated her to start to draw conceptual Manga to public. Her project Manga book was published in 2003 and 2012 in English and Japanese, and Italian version in 2011. After she immigrated to the US with her family in 2008, she collaborates her work with Pride March, NewFEST LGBT film festival, and other diverse organizations.

She also created manga illustrations of We Can Do It! series, which encourages women in diversity.

Manga sculpture, El Barrio Comes All Colors, Shapes and Sizes was funded by Flow15, Randall’s Island park alliance, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Made Event 2015

Rica, Miho and Meechan Cat was awarded as Demystifying NFTs by Technology Gap and New York Foundation for the Arts, 2022

Her interactive public installation Aliens in New York has been supported by New York Foundation for the Arts since 2013 which Rica started in Tokyo Harajuku open street since 1994.(The name at the time was Aozora Art/Blue Sky Art)

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some thoughts for art and culture I love

Last year I was interviewed by a queer digital archive run by staff in Amsterdam and London. One of the questions they asked was something like: “What do you think about archiving emotions?”

When I make work, the emotions behind it are often anger, pain, doubt, or sadness — but the final expression usually turns into something bright, pop, and fun. That contrast is kind of my signature. Because of that, I’ve always felt there are parts of my personality that get misunderstood. At the time, I came away thinking that maybe artwork shouldn’t just be tagged with dates and media, but with emotions too.

This year I’ve been rewatching Vocaloid videos I was obsessed with over ten years ago, along with newer ones. I kept wondering why I was so deeply into them back then. I think it’s because it’s a medium where emotions are fully exposed — and shared collectively. Literature can do that too, but for me it always felt too lonely. Vocaloid culture takes painful feelings, puts them into words and music, and then layers comments on top. The piece is “completed” through that interaction — or maybe it never really completes, it’s always in progress. That’s why those works never die.

Either way, it’s all very teenage-edgelord energy, not exactly a hobby you brag about. That’s my Vocaloid phase.

So what about games?

I love technology, art, and weird gadgets (mostly as a spectator). Genre labels aside, I’ve always liked indie games. But I kept feeling something was missing — emotional expression didn’t seem very present. Recently though, I found an incredible piece: a DDR-style mini game layered with emotional literature, wrapped in the most pop presentation imaginable. I got genuinely excited. I thought, so this is possible. The creator is a software-focused CS person rather than hardware-oriented, which… yeah, tough times to be in that field right now.

I love seeing younger artists create new things without being dragged down by traditional art expectations. New work always comes from places we don’t yet know. That’s why it feels like the future.

昨年、アムスとロンドンのスタッフがやってるクイア系のデジタルアーカイブのインタビューを受けて、その時の質問で「感情をアーカイブする事についてどう思うか」みたいなやつがあったんだよね。

作品を作るときの感情は怒りや痛みや疑問や悲しみだったりするのに、表現としては明るくポップで楽しい作品に帰結する、ってのが私の特徴で、だからこそ私のパーソナリティに誤解される部分が前から多いとは思っていたので。

だから作品につけるタグ付けは、年月日やメディアだけでなく感情も入れるといいのかなという、その時の私の理解はそんな感じだった。

今年に入って10年以上前にハマったボーカロイドの動画を聞き直していたり新作を見たりしているのだけど、なんで自分が当時あんなにハマったんだろうか、と思うに、「感情を全面に出して、かつみんなで共有してみる」メディアだからかなとかちょっと思った。感情を全面に出してる文学とかもあるが私には孤独すぎたんだな。痛い辛いという感情を言葉と曲に乗せて、そこにコメントがついて完成させる的な、いや完成しないで常に経過途中な作品なんだろう。だから作品は永遠に死なない。

どっちみち厨二病の世界なんで自慢できるような趣味ではない。私のボカロ厨は。

んで、ゲームはどう？

私はテクノロジーとアートとか変なガジェット好きで（見る専）、まあテックがどんなジャンルかってのはさておき、インディーズゲームは好きなんである。そこに感情表現はあると思う？あんまなくね？そこに物足りなさを感じてた。んが、DDR風のミニゲームに感情文学をのせた最高にポップな作品を先日見つけてちょっと興奮してる。この手があったか、と、思う。ゲームボーイのカセットでも５００bit以下でヤバい作品作ってる。作家さんはハード系ではなくソフト系のCS専門なので今はきつい時代だよなあ。

若い人がトラディショナルアートに引きずられずにどんどん新しいものを作るのが好きだ。いつも新しいものは未だにしらないところから来るんだ。だから未来なんだよね。