Visiting Jichan

"Visiting Jichan" is part of the ダブル • Daburu collection, a partnered exhibition with my friend and fellow Japanese-American artist Marie Okuma Johnston at Gallery 110.  This collection explores our bicultural identities and experiences between the United States and Japan. Daburu is the Japanese hepburn spelling of double, a rising identity of mixed-race Japanese. Traditionally, mixed-race Japanese have been called “hafu” or half, which only places value on the Japanese side of identity rather than embracing the entirety of a person’s experience. The title of Daburu is also a play on the double feature of the artist's stories, identities, parallels, and bicultural experiences.  This portrait is based on a photo I took of my jichan standing in front of our family's home, in my mom's hometown. 30"x30" oil on stretched canvas  signed by artist