"Whose Stories" @ Kamloops Art Gallery

 "Whose Stories", curated by Makiko Hara, is up on view at Kamloops Art Gallery. Along with 5 artists' works, there are 17 works ( mixed media drawings, installations and a video) from "Drawings from Dharmsala" and "Gwangju - City of Light" created between 2012 to 2019.

https://kag.bc.ca/?p=0&action=exhibitions&subaction=view...

"Reflecting on the experiences and narratives of "others", 'Whose Stories?' shares the work of six artists of Asian descent. Through video installation, photography, animation, print media, drawing, collage, and restored ceramic works, artists Diyan Achjadi, Load na Dito, Naoko Fukumaru, Tomoyo Ihaya,Mark Salvatus, and UJINO convey personal histories told within a community of artists and woven across generations."

Much gratitude for all the professional and sincere work to: Makiko Hara and everybody at KAG; Charo Neville, Krystyna Halliwell, Garnet Dirksen, Matthew Trembley, Emily Hope and Rachel Thompson.

Heart felt congratulations to Makiko Hara and all artists.

Here are some gallery shots and my thoughts below.

The most of works included in this exhibition were made while/after I stayed in the Tibetan community (Dharamsala) in exile in India in 2012. Self immolation protests in Tibet were happening every few days at peak. Other two are related with Gwangju, Republic of Korea and Taiwan where I stayed, made art related with their human rights related struggles and exhibited those works.

Since these visits, I carry so many faces and hearts of people whom I met in my heart. Some have passed away without going back home. Younger friends who live in exile and can not see their families back in their homeland. Never erased wounds after witnessing their comrades died in protest.

I always feel those works are physically drawn by my existing body but emotionally/mentally drawn together with these friends whom I came across in my nomadic life. I learned about their lives, and pain, shared food and laughters, and shed tears together and I owe them lots.

So at this occasion, I feel touched as if their lives were acknowledged and felt by other humans in such a far away place where a history of a tremendous suffering has been recognised recently as well.

Update: "Migration" by Fight With A Stick , inspired by Video "Eyes Water Fire"

Delia Brett and 'Sadhu' under the white canopy ( mountain or white cloud)

@EDAM, spring 2021

Introducing a collaborative project which started in late 2020.

Dialogues between Alex Lazaridis, an artistic director of Fight With A Stick and Delia Brett, a dancer/producer started much earlier when we first met and they were introduced to my short animation 'Eyes Water Fire" (2016)*.

Alex proposed to create a performance that is a collaboration among performers, sound, light and my art works. For about 4 months since January of 2021, I created art works in much bigger scale than usual. Those are of significant symbols in the video: Blue ( migrating ) legs, eyes ( of witnessing and praying), butter lamps as paper boats, a felted figure as a self immolating person( a revived old work) and a huge paper lantern (snowly mountain). During our experimental sessions, performers, Delia Bret and Diego Romeo, moved among/with the art works while sound and light were experimented by James Maxwell and Parjad Sharifi.

It has been such a profound experience to work with a wonderful group of artists with deep sensitivities and insights. It is amazing to see how one short video can be deepened and expanded in multi-dimensions with many creative hands and eyes.

Attached are some photos from the experimental sessions and of art works created.

Because of the pandemic circumstance and my other commitments, the performance will not be in public till early next year.

I do hope that it can be shown under a relatively normal circumstance next year and many of you can come to see it. I will keep you posted here and on social media.

The below is the excerpt of the description from the website of Fight With A Stick. Website link is below.

"Migration

A personal sacrifice for the good of all. A surrender of body, self, and mind. Feel this burning moment. Migration is a transdisciplinary collaboration with visual artist Tomoyo Ihaya and is based on her work Eyes Water Fire. The project continues Fight With a Stick's collaborative explorations with other-than-human materialities.

The development phase began in November 2020 and ended in May 2021. Full production has been delayed due to the pandemic but we are hoping to bring the show to live audiences in late 2021 or early 2022.

Workshop collaborators: Tomoyo Ihaya (visual artist), Alex Lazaridis (director), Delia Brett (choreographer-performer), James Maxwell (sound design), Parjad Sharifi (light and projection design), Taiga Chiba (carpentry), Sooyeon Goo (assistant to Tomoyo), Mona Lisa Ali (video animation), Diego Romero (performer). Special thanks to EDAM dance."

*Eyes Water Fire is a short animation in which I tried to express meaning of living, empathic compassion and human dignity that I 'experienced' through painful situations in Tibet such and living with Tibetan friends in exile closely. Although my 'experience' is indirect and I can never feel the same pain that many of them went through, I was moved by something to make this video.

To view "Eyes Water Fire"https://vimeo.com/464653184           

Website: Fight With A Stick  https://www.fightwithastick.ca/in-development

Trans is being created for a digital video format. It is in early development stages and is planned for release online in late 2021.

Eye cloud from the May experimental session, May 2021

                                                                                Eyes and Blue legs

https://vimeo.com/464653184             https://www.fightwithastick.ca/in-development