Visitors \ Festivals & Events \ Event Detail

Japanese Canadian National Museum presents

Michael Tora Speier, “Broken Only at Sky” and Leslie Komori, “Lemon Creek Map Project”

September 17 – November 7, 2009

National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent (Kingsway & Sperling), Burnaby, BC

Opening reception Friday, September 25, 6-8pm. All are welcome to attend.

Gallery hours Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm. Closed Sunday, Monday & statutory holidays.

NEW APPROACHES TO JAPANESE CANADIAN MEMORIES OF INTERNMENT

Two playful and interactive installations invite moments of personal recollection.

Japanese Canadian National Museum presents the joint exhibit Broken Only at Sky by Michael Tora Speier, and the Lemon Creek Map Project by Leslie Komori, opening September 17, 2009 at the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, located at 6688 Southoaks Crescent in Burnaby, BC, and continuing until November 7, 2009. An opening celebration will be held Friday, September 25th from 6 - 8 pm.

Broken Only at Sky is a playful series of sculptural works offering a hands-on approach for visitors to explore a broad Japanese North American history. It is an artistic project rooted in specific family sites and moments of personal remembrance. Four pyramid-shaped markers invite viewers to engage all their senses in a collage of symbols, signs and sites. Three glass globe dioramas depict historic scenes of passage for Japanese in their new land - Passage to Turtle Island – late 1890s, Orchard Picnic – 1920s, and The Campfire – 1942-1945.

Michael Tora Speier is a Vancouver raised hapa yonsei with family roots in California, Queens (New York), Japan and the Black Sea. "I was inspired by my maternal family’s pool of immigrant experience. Reflections on history led me to create poetry that opened up an intricate story of connecting disparate worlds. My work weaves together past and present landscapes which meet the huge open sky of one’s imagination."

The Lemon Creek Map Project was inspired by a visit to Lemon Creek in the Slocan region of interior BC. From 1943-1946, this was the home of 2000 displaced Japanese Canadians, including Leslie's mother. Today, there is virtually nothing in Lemon Creek - it is literally a cow field margined by barbed wire. The project uses a giant map outline and historic photographs as an interactive community memory "colouring project" for anyone who wishes to add stories or drawings to fill in the cartography. It is ever-changing and ever-evolving, relying on the participation of the survivors and their families.

Leslie Komori is a third generation Vancouverite, literally born and bred in Oakridge. She is active in the Japanese Canadian community, and a member of several Taiko groups. "I wanted to give Lemon Creek Survivors the ability to mark their name on a map, to proclaim their presence and own that part of their personal history. I wanted to give children of camp survivors the opportunity to learn about their family's history. I hope this project might spark other stories from their parent's memories, such as sledding down Anderson Hill, or walking across the train trestle enroute to Slocan City."

The Japanese Canadian National Museum communicates to all the Japanese Canadian experience and contribution as an integral part of Canada’s heritage and multicultural society.