I Am or Am Not Looking at I
This work represents the interplay between my feeling of presence and absence when I first moved from Japan to the United States. I was physically present in my new country, but I was mentally distant, like a shell. I pose the question of how someone can be both present and absent by using a mirror that does not show their reflection. When walking in front of this piece, the interior of the window lights up and becomes transparent. A mirror is visible through the window, and the reflection from the mirror appears as a double reflection. Viewers look into this mirror but do not ever see themselves, only a double reflection of the interior window. This piece is meant to ask a viewer how to perceive and identify one’s self while losing sight of one’s self.