Memories of an Ido

Many stories remain unspoken in the homes of Japanese Canadians. This is partly due to the values of enryo (roughly, "reserve") and shikata-gai- nai ("an acceptance of a difficult situation"). As an artist, I can see many powerful dreams and wishes that were held in hope during their time as prisoners and after, as they gathered strength to lift themselves up from the batterings of wartime.

The word "ido" means water well in Japanese. The Meiji Kyomasa wishing well in Tokyo is considered one of the most powerful of these wishing places. Harold Kawasoe, Like my maternal grandfather, became a gardener in Toronto. Harold may have imagined wishing wells for many of the gardens he constructed.

For this art installation, I imagined the freeing of lost wishes and dreams at an ido. The ethereal quality of the shoji paper cut-outs of Japanese garden themes on the windows further project Harold's landscape work; they are

surrounded by sounds of a late summer's eve. The glow of the

paper-covered chandelier and the wrapped furnishings speak of a veil of the past as much as a connection to the present.