shuri
修理 (to repair)

2023-2024, City of Lynnwood, powder coated cut steel, total dimension ~13 ft 8 in w x 4 ft 8 in h

In this work, I offer gifts from my people, and from the land. We heal by telling our stories of pain and sorrow, in counterbalance with those of joy and vitality. As a descendant of Japanese Americans who were jailed en masse during WWII, I use my moral imperative to question this society’s obsession with incarcerating bodies. 

Much of my work investigates this  moment of American history that has been willfully ignored and erased, but that we (present day and future generations) can learn much from. We learn about resilience, resistance and the grace of people despite mass incarceration. We learn that the most powerful of democratic countries can continue to demonize people and not live up to its constitutional promises. We learn to investigate deeply rooted systems that are quick to demonize the “other.”

Through this work, I ask the people and organizations involved in the Lynnwood Criminal Justice Center to keep promises: that it be a place of healing change providing broad health and rehabilitation services; that it be a place to find safety and help in times of dire crisis; that it be a place that helps people find a way out of the criminal justice system, instead of one that perpetuates it.