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tangerine ware for new year

Reduction-fired porcelain cups, bowls and tangerines.
Slip cast and tile work.
2022

tangerine ware for new year is a collection of slip-cast and tile pieces that reflects on the significance of the holiday in Japanese and local Hawaii culture. Tangerines are displayed in homes and cars, along with mochi and evergreen branches, to bring good luck in the new year. This celebratory emblem is here calcified in porcelain, and displayed with sake cups and bowls, in a futile attempt to indefinitely preserve the effectiveness of such displays. Good health, long life, and prosperity.

in memory of a pond

2,000+ reduction-fired porcelain tiles.
Foam board and cement base.
2022

in memory of a pond is a public, outdoor ceramic sculpture made for Lansing Art Gallery's 2022 ArtPath. Relief details on the surface of the work mimic the curves and ripples of waves, while drawing further inspiration from roof tiles and adornments on traditional Japanese houses. This work reflects on memories from my great-grandparents’ home in Waipahu, Hawaii, and uses the repeated unit of tile to map how those memories have changed over time. 
Photo 1 from the Lansing State Journal. Featured photo by Nick King.

light yellow

3,000+ soda-fired porcelain tiles on an MDF frame.
Four carved plaster tiles with laser-cut birch plywood.
2022

light yellow is a cumulative thesis project displayed at the Broad Art Museum from March 26 - May 18, as part of its 2022 MFA exhibition. The project includes a 3x12ft porcelain tiled pool, and four "reliquaries" made of porcelain and laser-cut plywood. light yellow explores cultural loss through the creation mythology of a fictional human-fish hybrid species, and draws inspiration from the artist's own experience of multiethnic identity, as well as histories of scientific racism. Photos 1-5 by Alex Nichols.

catch index

Carved plaster tiles, arranged on MDF board.
Glazed stoneware with a maple frame.
2021

catch index is a pseudo-scientific examination of a fictional human-fish hybrid species. The carved plaster tiles function as found objects, arranged and presented for human legibility. Together, the tiles narrate a story of the capture and exploitation of a hybrid, serving as another historical monument in the creation mythology of this species.