Artist Conversation #5

Artist: Kiyomi Fukui
Exhibition:Conversation on Conflict, The Green Thumb Project
Media: Sculpture, Print-based
Website: kiyomifukui.com
Instagram: @kiyomimiz

Kiyomi Fukui is a Japanese-American that lives and works in Long Beach, CA. Her art is motivated by the idea that things do not last forever and that is okay. As she states on her website, “There is a tendency for people to seek permanance – When we know something lasts forever, it seems to permit us security, whereas impermanence reveals our insecurity.” I find it fascinating that she is able to capture this vulnerability through her artwork. Most of her work relies on the participants in some way like she explained in a couple of her pieces.

My first favorite piece that she described was about her relationship with her father called: Conversation on Conflict. Her father was a second generation Korean and a pastor with strict views. There were many arguments between them. The conversation talked about how he was able to become naturalized and by hearing him speak she was able to see some sort of humanity within him. She wanted to understand where he was coming from since he had identified himself as “other”. By using that term, he had felt “othered” by Japanese people and struggled with his identity, as well as having to change his name. The art piece relied on her audience to fold sheets of origami paper, which had this conversation typed out between the two, into cranes. She stated that by having each person fold a crane, it signified a repeated prayer to the impossible, and the impossible was that she hoped that their relationship would get better.

My second favorite piece that she described was related to her mother’s passing in Korea, from an ongoing battle of cancer called: The Green Thumb Project. Kiyomi felt a burden on her shoulders by not being able to be there during her mother’s passing, so by creating this piece it allowed her to feel some type of closure. Kiyomi was able to create a cast of her mother’s thumb and bring it back to the states. With this cast, she created more thumbs using paper mache. The purpose of this was for her to be able to mold and plant seeds into them to allow them to grow. Not to mention they are biodegradable which is a plus. These green thumbs signified her mother spreading into other people’s space. This was, in a way, a type of rebirth and her mother would be able to live on forever.

Most art that I see is fun to look at and has a unique technique to it. With Kiyomi’s art, I find it very striking, honest, and real. I was able to connect with her thoughts and perceptions even through the screen. I appreciate how she was able to take her sensitive memories and portray them in such a positive and open light. She wasn’t trying to hide her difficult past, but instead wanted to include others in her journey to heal. I agree with her idea that people seek comfort in security and with something like death, it is inevitable. However, it also gives us a chance to see beauty in pain like she was able to do.