“Remembrance of things past” has been a preoccupation of mine for a very long time. This is reflected in my art making.
My father was my remaining link to the community of my early childhood, Japantown, the community of Japanese-Canadians on the west coast of Canada during the 1930’s. The death of my father, with whom I often shared memories and recollections has ruptured this link and deepened my sense of loss. This has been my inspiration for the installation of “Once upon a time. . .”.
The two kimono pieces with photos of my parents depict a thriving, self-sustaining community of so many people crammed into small spaces. My paternal grandmother however, managed to raise eight children within this community without learning a word of English. All their education took place within this culturally rich though socially confined community.
“And then. . .” is about what happened at the time of the 2nd World War. The already present racism had escalated and provided racist groups and political figures to intern and then deliberately fragment this community.