Spirited beings: reincarnated

My sculptures are products of my heritages' popular culture and ancient stories combined together to reveal the disconnect I feel from my roots. Japan's popular culture of animated cartoons and movies contain bits and pieces of its history and folklore of legendary and mythical creatures that were used to explain the unexplainable at a time when science was not a prevailing rationale. Cute creatures with exaggerated heads are portrayed to reflect Japan's "kawaii" (super cute) trend that is being produced and marketed to the Japanese and American culture. The surface of the sculptures are rounded, smoothed, and sanded to a point of near perfection to emulate Japanese toys and Anime characters. I primarily use clay to create my sculptures to add a connection to the past where clay was the primary material of use before the age of metals began. Clay also allows me to easily manipulate the surface in both an additive and subtractive manner. The details, such as scales or fur, are representative of some of the Japanese designs, simple and extremely detailed. By utilizing the idea of kneeling and praying, the works exhibited are placed near the ground; forcing the viewer to crouch for a better experience.