Balloon Puppy (pink body and aqua splash) | Joe Suzuki
Balloon Puppy (pink body and aqua splash) | Joe Suzuki
Year: 2023
Materials: Epoxy Resin, Enamel and Paint Can
Dimensions: 15 × 11 × 5 in | 38.1 × 27.9 × 12.7 cm
Classification: Unique variant
" I consider my work to be artifacts of my own particular culture, which is not the generalized Japanese American culture, but that which formed as a direct result of being a first generation immigrant. Through a long assimilation process, I found myself not fully belonging to either culture, but rather somewhere in between, which I began to call Japamerica.
In my peculiar culture, customs and traditions are born out of misunderstandings or idiosyncrasies, and myths and legends are often formed through the struggles of everyday life. I am fascinated by and curious about my culture's development and the affect it has on my identity. I see my art making as an investigation that captures and documents my ever changing, mutating, polyglot reality. My work is informed by my life, contingent on my ordinary, real world experiences as a middle class Japamerican artist dad, who is simply trying to make sense of it all. "