Jun Mabuchi is a Brooklyn-based administrator from Chiryu, Japan. He has been a member of For Freedoms since 2018. He manages institutional exhibitions and For Freedoms visual assets. Most recently, he helped execute the 2020 Awakening Billboard Campaign.

For Messages for the City: Dreaming Forward

About Can We Coexist?: "For this billboard project, I wanted to tap into my dual identities as Japanese man living in the US. From living in multiple countries, I am trapped in the middle, not accepted fully as a Japanese or an American. I wanted to create a billboard that suggests everyday Americans about collectivism that is so fundamental to Japanese culture. Japanese culture is all about collectivism. We don’t want to disrupt our collective harmony. It’s common to see people wearing masks outside of their homes in pre-covid era, to prevent the spread of cold even if you are not sick. Additionally, we generally use our last name to identify ourselves. Our family names are more important than given names. Looking at anti-mask folks in the news, I was disgusted by how little people care about the health of others. People have no patience or cooperation, only thinking about themselves. My billboard aims to question what if these opposite cultures find ways to come together? Is that even possible? I am not here to criticize America and its individualism. I want to imagine a future where Individualism and collectivism can coexist."

Designed by: Kendall Henderson/Sam Shmith