Latent Heat

My artwork deals with the interaction between the real and imaginary. Relying on both media references and autobiographical elements, I explore issues of memory, identity and desire. As a Japanese woman who has been culturally conditioned to conceal and contain rather than reveal, I am interested in uncovering my own identity by aggressively evoking emotional reactions from my viewer. Latent Heat is a series of images, which reflect upon my anxiety regarding “the end of all things.” Followed by a heightened awareness that I was simultaneously experiencing several personal losses – including a mysterious illness of a family member, and the sudden and unexpected death of close friends. These horrific events, unfolding through the media daily in my birthplace, and the uneasiness and apprehension associated with loss and grieving began to merge together, to synchronize. I was the vortex, the meeting space of several disconnected events that formed a personal sense of tragic ending; a belief akin to the fated sense of despair associated with end date of the Mayan calendar. I began to think, and even truly believe in a single fated day for the end of all things. These images consist of my fear, omens, sense of awe, and peaceful acceptance for things to come.