Wk 14 – Artist Conversation – Kiyomi Fukui

Artist: Kiyomi Fukui in collaboration with Amanda Katz
Exhibition: Tea at 3307
Media: Tea mat, made of gampi paper stained with conversation and various tea
Gallery: 3307 W Washington Blvd
Website: http://www.kiyomifukui.com/
Instagram: kiyomimiz

Kiyomi Fukui Nannery received an MFA in Printmaking from California State University Long Beach and a BFA in Graphic Design from La Sierra University. A majority of her work is print based however she also enjoys creating fiber based work through crotchet and and tatting. Kiyomi states that in her work she strives to uncover and explore the ephemeral and vulnerable qualities of the human experience. As such, her work itself is often constructed of transitory materials.

Tea at 3307 comes together as participants made their own tea balls from a selection curated by Kiyomi. Guests then sat with Kiyomi as she shared a profoundly personal collection of literature, inviting her guests to talk about their own vulnerabilities as well. There were no saucers provided so the tea balls sat and left colorful stains on the white gampi paper as groups spoke to one another about their innermost feelings. There were three teas available – hibiscus, butterfly pea flower, and turmeric that would stain the paper red, blue and yellow respectively. Reminiscent of water color the tea ball stains flowed around the paper, permeating almost the entire canvas in most cases.

The resulting product was a print documenting the intimate social gathering that took place. Guests had some control over the tea stain that they left however by participating the activity they were also agreeing to leave some sort of mark with their tea. Similarly, by participating they were also agreeing to show some level of emotional vulnerability and leave their “mark” on others through conversation. Emotions are by nature very messy and difficult to control at times, which is mirrored in the water color-like nature of the tea balls. The stain moves and migrates in a way that a guest cannot control precisely. Additionally our emotions have some sort of effect on those around us which can be seen in the commingling of stains on the paper.

I found Tea at 3307 to be a wonderfully executed concept. In today’s world I think we are urged to shy away from revealing any vulnerability especially in the form of sharing how we feel so it is so refreshing to see that act celebrated in Kiyomi’s work. When we do share our feelings with one another often it is over a meal or beverage – however in everyday life there typically is no tangible documentation of this. I found it extremely interesting that Kiyomi was able to so seamlessly combine the acts of drinking tea, making conversation, and creating art so that guests only had to concentrate on facilitating discussion with one another and not on purposely producing art. For me it begs the question – are we effortlessly creating art when we allow ourselves and each other to express emotions and ideas freely?