I graduated with a major in Japanese language from the University of British Columbia, and then studied pottery at The Shimpi Togei Center, and later at Kyoritsu Primitive Art in Japan. I continued my pottery studies at Emily Carr Univerisity and graduated in Ceramics.
Pottery still informs my work, but now I maintain a studio in the Chinatown area of Vancouver and am working 3-dimensionally in paper and wood, and 2-dimensionally with digital photos and paint.
Artist Statement
I start with the image of a huge bonfire. When the Japanese Canadians were forced to re-locate in 1942 during WW2, any object or image that was deemed "too Japanese" was confiscated and burned. One can imagine the trauma and fear heightened by the bonfires. Japanese Canadians could only keep the objects that would fit into one suitcase. Politics and circumstance edited what would remain as a legacy.
In my art practise, I have been utilizing photographs I found in my grandmother's and father's old albums. I am creating what is not in existence: a Japanese heritage that was illustrated in photos that were destroyed. By utilizing the few photos that remain, I am creating my own legacy: a performance of Canadian-ness in a context where that performance is never actually successful or complete.
