Artist Statement

In my installation work, I transform massive numbers of simple, ordinary materials that--through repetition, correction, and manipulation--become something unimaginable. In this process, my pieces make the everyday expressive, the simple sublime. What did I think, what did I see, what did I feel while in the process--these are transferred into the work while transforming daily use materials.

My illustration is personal. After my friend’s death December 2017, I started my watercolor series. We met when forming a Japanese play group for our children when they were babies. Her death made me feel grateful for my family more than ever, but also aware of how their absence would feel. I wanted to involve and incorporate them into my art, especially my daughter who is now seven years old, and who sketched the ideas for the ghost characters. “Home in NY” and “Home in DC” are to create a sense of warmth and safety for my daughter. “Lake Union” is for my father who has an Alzheimer's disease, and now spends much of his day at his window observing many seaplanes come and go at the Lake Union.