Encounter

When we encounter objects—even those that seem broken or lifeless—we bring them into our inner world and give them life. Most of the objects that move Junko to paint are objects that no one else might consider even worth looking at: dead flowers, roots, burls, parts of broken engines—commonplace things in which Junko finds a creative force yearning for expression. We call the intense relationship between Junko and her subjects "encounter": it grows out of a connection between qualities in the objects and qualities in Junko which attract and transform each other. It goes beyond mere interest or even fascination: it is a personal kind of interaction between Junko and her subjects, which could not possibly have been understood before the 21st Century because to understand it requires a modern psychological consciousness, and an awareness of Eastern styles of empathy which arise from the awareness of a spirit inside everything.  

Beyond Ethnicity

In the new universe, all the boundaries will be surmounted: not just the physical boundaries, but the boundaries we ourselves create: blood, soil. ethnicity. Junko's art reflects heavy influences from Western and Eastern sources. In all three Galleries, you can see these influences.

Divine Darkness

A light so bright that we see it as darkness. But it radiates energy and empowers us.

Liquidity

The universe and every part of it is in constant motion—and so are we! 

The Organic and the Inorganic

In the new universe, the boundary line between the organic and the inorganic will no longer be recognized as absolute. For us to view something as "inorganic" eliminates all possibility of our empathizing with it—and in the new universe, the scope of our empathy will be drastically expanded. In fact, the universe itself might be seen as "organic"—capable of empathy and responsive to our own beings. In the 2014 series of 11 works, Integroids, burls, and engine parts, are combined to make creatures which integrate the organic with the inorganic.