TRIANGLE CHOKE

About this work

Two bodies interlock across a hexagonal canvas in a composition inspired by the triangle choke, a signature submission hold in mixed martial arts. Bold, flat planes of orange, black, sky blue, pink, yellow, and brown are delineated by thick black outlines, while hands, feet, and facial features are scattered and reassembled from multiple viewpoints—a direct application of Cubism. Okazaki deliberately selects canvas shapes to match each combat sport: hexagons for MMA (echoing the octagonal cage), squares for pro-wrestling rings, and circles for sumo. The gray ground left visible beneath the painted forms reflects what she calls the "gray zone" of combat sports—the ambiguity between the real and the staged, which she chooses to preserve rather than resolve. Two distinct faces emerge within the composition, one near the center and another at the bottom, simultaneously presenting the perspectives of both the attacker and the defender. The irregular hexagonal format itself heightens the tension, as though the force of the grappling exchange has reshaped the very boundaries of the picture plane.