Since childhood, I’ve always felt the friction of being asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” — the question becoming more and more pointed, more and more skeptical over time.I’d never know how to answer; at times it was a mixture of ten different things and at others, nothing at all. My answers never really satisfied others. So I kept learning, exploring, trying, failing, trying again.
It was during my study of Japanese that I came upon the phrase 色々な事 (iroiro-na-koto) or, various things. In this everyday expression, I somehow landed on the simple words that gave me my answer. It felt well-intentioned, with the desire to answer truthfully, as much as it was left purposefully vague—sometimes, even a little evasive. In the same way, I want to leave my art practice open to the variety and confusion I’d love to explore without shame. Perhaps objects end up functional, perhaps not. Perhaps they make sense as a body of work, perhaps not. And I’m learning to be okay with that. Iro Iro Things is an attempt to connect (some of) the dots looking backward, stringing together my experiences, values, and the weird odd-and-end interests I’ve picked up along the way. All of it makes me who I am in this very moment. |