The Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi has been arrested by Tokyo Metropolitan Police (TMP) for uploading a 3D model of her vagina, according to the Tokyo Reporter. The arrest stems specifically from an incident on March 20, when Igarashi sent a man a link providing data that, when processed by a 3D printer, could be used to produce a replica of the artist’s genitals. This, according to the TMP, qualifies as “distribution of obscene material electronically,” an allegation the artist firmly denies.
“I do not acknowledge that (the work) is an obscenity,” she told the police, Tokyo Reporter says.
Igarashi, who works under the moniker Rokudenashi-ko, has used the 3D model of her vagina to produce a line of sculptures and functional objects, from miniature landscape dioramas and figurines to iPhone cases and a structurally sound and sea-tested kayak. These and other applications for her vagina model are documented extensively on Igarashi’s website. Read more and watch a video over at ArtNet
