Shingo Yamazaki is a second-generation Japanese/Korean-American artist, born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Currently based in Los Angeles, Yamazaki’s work addresses the complexities of cultural hybridity, identity, and the meaning of “home.” He draws upon a mixture of cultural nuances, iconography, and imagery inspired by his upbringing in Honolulu, and his recent migration to Los Angeles. Through his painting practice, he navigates the experience of having a shallow pool of personal generational connection to place, while also being part of communities of deep ancestral heritages.
Yamazaki’s work oscillates between reality and the imaginary, in which subtle layers of multicultural iconography are juxtaposed to confront the viewer with an amalgamation specific to his personal generational history. Within these narratives, various forms of interjections bury and uncover tableaus, resulting in a visual meditation of themes such as generational trauma, anxieties, and invisibility. This process of adding and subtracting simultaneously acts as a coping mechanism, imbuing a sense of vulnerability within the context and comfort of being “home.”
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