Artist statement: Inspired by classical Japanese theatre, Noh, as well as Hanakatoba 花言葉, the Japanese language of flowers, Hagoromo 羽衣 (The feather mantle) series explore my Japanese-Australian cultural identity, delving into uncomfortable spaces of grief, separation, longing, and loss. annaThis work is a photographic series of six images that retell the famous Noh play Hagoromo 羽衣 (The feather mantle). In the work I am surrounded by chrysanthemums, which are traditionally associated with death, and my kimono is worn right over left, a style reserved only for the dead – a deep taboo in Japanese culture. Hagoromo 羽衣 (The feather mantle) excavates layers of unspoken grief, accumulated through the collective trauma of successive years of bushfires, flooding, pandemics, and resulting isolation, which continue to impact Australian women from all walks of life. This series gives voice to the universal emotion of grieving, regardless of language or cultural context.

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