Remembering To Heal

2022- 2023

​

For the past several years, I have explored the concepts of cultural loss, cultural identity loss, and associated grief through my art practice. I define cultural loss as a phenomenon in which one loses familiarity with their cultural knowledge, customs, and languages. A byproduct of cultural loss is the loss of cultural identity, diminishing the sense of pride and respect for one’s own culture, and eroding one’s sense of belonging. Cultural loss can occur due to time spent away from the home country, as well as through multiple forms of oppression in the new host country. Social contexts and
political climates may promote cultural losses, as one’s culture may be cherished one day but frowned upon another day based on the political relationships between home and host countries. Moreover, cultural loss and cultural identity loss can span across
generations in a family, slowly marginalizing people into the mainstream culture.

My artwork in this collection are the results of personal reflection as an Asian, Japanese immigrant, and a woman of color in the U.S. I have explored the instigators of cultural losses, methods to reclaim what was lost, and ways to regain a sense of belonging to my culture of origin in order to understand what transforms this specific yet less recognized type of grief into healing.

​

(This collection was exhibited as a solo show at The D'art Center in Norfolk, VA in 2024.)