Description of Work

友達 (Friend) - 2021 - Ink, mixed media - Not for Sale

魔法少女 (Magical Girl) - 2021 - Ink, mixed media - Not for Sale

兄弟 (Siblings) - 2021 - Ink, mixed media - Not for Sale

Artist's Statement

Manga was a gift that gave me joy, and the work is to do the same for my audience. I want to celebrate the wonderful gift of storytelling by trying to evoke emotional responses through illustrating in a manga style. Manga, or Japanese comics, demonstrate characters holding up the story. Whimsical yet powerful, the relationships they hold inspire us, and as readers we can empathize with the narrative.

Books, fiction or not, inspire and expand our own imagination. I was inspired to learn Japanese from novels and manga. There are English translations for many Japanese comics, but I wanted to try to bridge the gap and connect more, by understanding the language. The incorporation of Japanese text is a continuation of my own learning. Going through the translation, and fixing the grammatical errors is an artistic process.

The books are read from right to left to match the Japanese text, which is read in that direction. English translations are incorporated beneath the piece separately. All the imagery is inked line work, reflecting manga as an inspiration. The illustrations are housed in accordion books. In this form they stand on their own, allowing the viewer to interact with the scenes in a different setting rather than flipping the pages in a comic. Characters are no longer housed in individual panel boxes, rather each page becomes the container.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)