Artist Statement

My work lives at the intersection of memory, ecology, and identity, shaped by the Pacific landscapes and diasporic legacies that raised me. Working primarily in watercolor, textiles, poetry and portraiture, I explore the contours of the Ryukyuan American experience, the resilience of de-colonial Pacific traditions, and the ever-evolving sense of place unique to Los Angeles.

Drawing from personal memory and collective ancestral histories, my practice weaves together themes of ecosocialism, ghost stories, non-human relatives, deep female friendships, and the seductive, often damaging mythologies of romantic love. I am particularly interested in John Keats's idea of Negative Capability—the ability to dwell in uncertainty without the restless need for resolution—which mirrors how I navigate cultural dislocation and reconnection, as well as emotional complexity in my work.

Each piece is an attempt to honor the people and places that have shaped my understanding of care and interdependence. I want viewers to feel welcome in my home of color and poetry, and to leave with a sense of wonder about the world they inhabit, connecting to their neighborhoods as living, breathing systems of relationships. Through layered images, textures, and narratives, I hope to encourage a vision of community and ecosystem as one and the same: a space where beauty is not in dominance, but in symbiosis.

List of Plays

“The Keepsakes” • Excerpt performed as a staged reading as part of New Works from East West Players Writer Institute at the Santa Monica Playhouse’s Binge Fringe Festival, October, 2021.

“Broken Shells” • Performed as part of the Plays Across the Walls virtual festival at the SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance, November, 2020.

"Nmarijima Nu Kutuba Wasshii Nee Kuni N Wasshiin" • Performed as part of the One-Minute Play Festival in Honolulu, May, 2017.

"Purple Haze" • Performed as part of the One-Minute Play Festival in Honolulu, May, 2017.

“Sympathy for the Women” • Performed as a staged reading part of Festival of the Pacific Arts and Culture, November, 2015.

“Runny Nose Boy” • Performed as part of Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s “Tiny Tails,” May, 2002.

“Hollywood & Vine” • Performed as part of Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Theatrefest, November, 2000.

“Fat Boy” • Performed as part of Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Theatrefest, November, 1999. Performed as part of The Blank Theatre’s Young Playwrights Festival, July, 2000.

“Butterfly Girl” • Performed as part of Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Theatrefest, November, 1998.

“Angels in the Sand” • Performed as part of Honolulu Theatre for Youth’s Theatrefest, November, 1997.