Ending the Silence

LOCATION: Empty lot on Jackson Street between 4th and 5th.

DESCRIPTION: Ending the Silence is composed of two AR layers called Feeling Torn and Putting on a Face. It is located in the lot near the heart of Japantown. The art aims to deconstruct the “model minority” label associated with Japanese Americans (JA) and shed light on the authentic emotions they had in response to their incarceration during World War II.

SAMPLE:

ARTIST’S STATEMENT: While history lessons often generalize Japanese Americans as cooperating happily with their incarceration, in reality, there was a spectrum of unique attitudes that the community felt and endured. In each of the layers, artwork and animation effects are used to surround the user with poetic interpretations of their emotions that were often masked, ignored, or forgotten.

In the layer, Feeling Torn, users are surrounded by Executive Order 9066 posters that are slowly torn apart, leaving users in a whirlwind of torn up pieces of the poster. The tearing of the poster is symbolic of the anger and conflicting feelings Japanese Americans had, knowing the injustice of the camps but also wanting to prove they are American.

In the second layer, Putting on a Face, users are surrounded by illustrations of Japanese Americans, each expressing a different emotion. Slowly, their faces are scribbled out, leaving users surrounded by undetectable facial expressions. This visualization sheds light on the idea that while we have history classes and photographs suggesting that the JA community were happy and willing to comply with their relocation, we should question this reality. Were they hiding their true emotions?

By revealing the hidden histories of the JA community, we are reminded to view Japanese Americans as individual people who each experienced a spectrum of emotions and conflicting feelings regarding their incarceration. While Ending the Silence cannot depict every attitude the JA community had, I hope this abstract visualization gives users the chance to reflect and question the history that society wants us to remember.

ARTIST PROFILE:

Kelly Nishimura is a fourth generation Japanese American from Sunnyvale, California. While she is an emerging professional in the urban design field, Kelly has a growing passion for visual storytelling and interpretation that highlights unseen narratives and emotions. Her other interests include mental health, spikeball, and farmers markets.