"Cuando la luna llora", "Inside", "Resistance" and "Cadena"
for the Beaden's Found Children exhibit

I was a freshman when I first saw the work of Romare Bearden. Coming from a rather strict and traditional art education in Japan, I struggled during my first year of art school in Atlanta to create with a more free spirited approach. Just as a classical pianist might find it difficult to improvise and play jazz.

My professor introduced Romare Bearden's art as an example of master collage work. His collages were refreshingly shocking, so playful and almost child like. I felt the music in his bold colors. There was joy in this master artist's process. I found new freedom with my own process. It was okay to be rough, random and playful.

I have been working with canvas on canvas collage since 2010. When I grab my scissors and cut up my color strips, I feel like I'm cutting up the original 'me' and recreating a new 'me' as I place the pieces on canvas. We all reach a point in life where we see ourselves as someone we were not planning to become. 2010 was a time for me to rethink my life. The process of collage work gives me an opportunity to reflect on where I've been and the courage to reconstruct myself.

"Mensaje del mar"

Ocean is a special place for me. My father side of ancestors lived in a small island called Shodo-shima, Japan. I wonder if the memory of ocean is in my DNA when I paint a picture of ocean, because I don't have to look at photos or any resources to do them.

My father passed away in 2008. Following his will, my family buried him in ocean near the bay where he often went deep-sea fishing. I go to a waterfront when I feel the need to have a conversation with him as some people go to a family grave, because water is connected so I can be any part of the world.

As I sit on a beach and looking at waves coming and going. Those sparkles and bubbles started to looking like words, almost too chatty, not just my father, so many souls from the past, our ancestors all wanted to say something.

In this painting I cut and pasted over 300 letters to create what I feel near water.

"Harlem: el arbol de la energia"

There is a creative spirit living in Harlem.

In this painting I used a tree as a form to represent the spirit, the complex, organic, magical entity that resides in and connects us, all of us, our lives, our emotions, our history, our ancestors, our sorrows and our joys. Together, we ground each other and together we cherish and grow.

I can't help to feel that so many creative work came out of Harlem is the gift from the spirit, like the old saying "As "Egypt is The Gift of Nile". When I moved here, to Harlem, I began to feel a special kind of creative energy to do more artwork. Harlem has released the gates that were holding the images captive and I am running breathlessly joyfully to catch them.

Since March 11th, I have been glued to news media for Japan where my family live. Even in the worst earthquake in one thousand years, I read so many articles represent the real strength of 'community' not only in the crisis area and the rest of Japan, the global corporations has been amazing. And, on personal level so many neighbors and friends asked me about my family, even strangers on the street of Harlem... My heart was hugged by warmth of community. I worked on this painting, really 'feeling' the importance of a strong community.

Thank you, Harlem for letting me be a part of you.

"Somos la Musica"

This painting, "Somos la Musica" is about a West African dance class I attend at PS 194 on 144th St. There. people all age, mostly women, some men dance and sing traditional West African music with live drums and other instruments. Every time I attend I'm amazed by the great energy we exchange and our teacher Nafisa, not only she has an amazing energy, she has a special way to make us all smile by the end of the class. This is my richest music experience in Harlem or anywhere I have been, because we are the part of the music. We are the music.

For all recent paintings I work with my signature method I created in 2010, canvas on canvas collage. I paint strips of canvas fabric and cut them up to pieces, the glue them onto a canvas panel like mosaic.

Each dots of colors symbolize all of us, our feelings different from one another and or day to day. All together they create harmony, like music, like the drum beats....

A Speech for "BID on Culture" Press Conference / Award Ceremony

PRESS RELEASE > BID on Culture Annnounces Artists/Unveils New Banners to Hang Throughout Harlem

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