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MAY 5 - JUNE 5, 2021
A SOLO EXHIBITION AT THE COURTHOUSE GALLERY, LAKE GEORGE ARTS PROJECT
Artist statement
Lake George Arts Project
March 2021
My grandparents came from Kumamoto, Japan, and worked as itinerant farmers throughout the central coast of California and the desert of the Imperial Valley. They were forced to farm in areas that were considered unsuitable for agriculture. The figures in these paintings recall the Issei – first-generation Japanese-Americans – although they could just as easily portray the immigrant farm workers in so many parts of our country today.
My paintings are symbolic representations that examine not only the physical challenges my family endured, but also the institutional racism and internment they fell victim to during World War II. They reflect a relationship to the geography of my past and the silent rage and emotional shame that earlier generations were never able to express. The mountains represent the barriers to independence, the furrows signify the possibility of regeneration, and the clear, expansive skies symbolize hope for the future.
Understanding my family’s experiences and reflecting upon my own Japanese-American identity has become important to me personally and also feels worth examining while this brand of injustice is still a threat.
Paul Akira Miyamoto
