My work explores the surreality of childhood imagination, inherited superstitions, and the unsettling charm of Japanese folklore. I am so fascinated by how children use wonder and story to make sense of the chaotic world around them.

A central thread of my work honors my grandmother, Yoko, who lived on the margins and was forced into child labor after WWII. To survive such a harsh reality, she relied on a vivid imagination and a worldview filled with protective superstitions that she eventually passed down to me. In my newer work, I explore the strange folk tales, nursery rhymes, and traditions of my own youth. While normalized in Japanese culture as lessons on morality, gratitude, and respect for the unseen, looking back on them as an adult has revealed deeply intriguing eerie undertones. In my prints, I aim to capture this beautifully haunting nature of Japanese storytelling.

I layer low-tech methods like drawing fluid/filler and hand-cut stencils with photo emulsion, sometimes on delicate washi paper.