Kellen Hatanaka – BOOOOOOOM! – CREATE * INSPIRE * COMMUNITY * ART * DESIGN * MUSIC * FILM * PHOTO * PROJECTS

Japanese Canadian artist Kellen Hatanaka tackles troubles of identity and the Asian Canadian practical experience by means of a multidisciplinary observe consisting of painting and sculpture. His most the latest get the job done centres close to the tale of the Vancouver Asahi baseball team which emerged from humble beginnings in 1914 and were being lively till 1941 when they ended up disbanded because of to the forced elimination of Canadians of Japanese ancestry from coastal British Columbia pursuing situations of the 2nd World War. The decline of the Asahi was a reduction of Japanese Canadian id and a symbol of hope for equality and belonging. For Hatanaka, the rise and slide of the group serves as a strong metaphor for the reduction of delight, identity, and culture skilled by a lot of Japanese Canadians:

“The Japanese Canadian Internment Period has had enduring results on potential generations. As a yonsei or fourth technology descendant, I am exploring the reduction of Japanese society, identity, and custom in my personal knowledge and by way of my artmaking. With this do the job I aspire to address the deficiency of aspirational Asian figures within just common culture, specifically in the canon of western portray and winner underrepresented narratives. Whilst the subject matter make a difference is rooted in the earlier, the do the job explores modern issues of identification, race, inherited trauma, xenophobia, implicit bias, the search for belonging, the strength of local community and the results of decline of neighborhood.”

Hatanaka’s work was lately picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays who manufactured a shorter movie to be aired on the Jumbotron at the Rogers Centre. The film introduces Hatanaka and celebrates the history of the Asahi team in honour of Asian Heritage thirty day period. This yr also marks the 80 year anniversary of Japanese Canadian Internment and the 20 12 months Anniversary of the Asahi currently being honoured at the Skydome on the celebration of their induction into the Canadian Baseball Corridor of Fame. See extra visuals from Hatanaka’s venture with the Jays as well as his most current exhibition, Risk-free|Residence, beneath.