This ongoing series of paintings and larger-than-life mixed-media drawings seeks to reconcile the multifaceted layers of my identity within the broader context of the Asian diaspora. As a third-generation mixed-race woman of Japanese descent living in the U.S., I find myself at the intersection of cultures, navigating the complexities of straddling two worlds. The theme of being told that I 'don't even look Asian', while well-intentioned by some, encapsulates the perpetual othering experienced by individuals of mixed heritage.

My knowledge of Japan has come in adulthood through the distorted prism of American consumer culture: bright, impersonal pop art baubles, fashion T-shirts, candy, and kawaii toys that are far removed from the meanings and values inherent in traditional Japanese history. Further complicating access to this history is the weight of unspoken hardships endured by the previous two generations of my family in Japanese relocation centers during WWII.

Growing up in the 1970s with the shadow of recent American history ever-present yet rarely acknowledged within my family, my childhood was almost devoid of any references to my Japanese roots in an attempt to ensure that I was better assimilated. This absence of cultural history mirrored a lineage in which the women in my family were denied artistic expression—my grandmother was not allowed to paint, and I was strongly discouraged from becoming an artist as a young woman. Half Asian Artifacts engages directly with this history, and breaks a generational cycle.