Born in Canada, grew up in the U.S. and Japan, and since 2007 has lived in Europe. Her globe-trotting background led to "Crossing Borders" becoming one of the core ideas of her work.
After graduating and working as a three-dimensional computer graphic designer for TV commercials, Akagawa gradually became aware of her emotional conflict in working for the capitalistic advertising industry, the world of information manipulation and mammonism. Rejecting machine-produced products and turning towards history and legacy, she altered her medium from the cutting-edge digital platform to Japanese traditional ink and brush.
Akagawa's artworks are created based on her technique as a master of Japanese calligraphy, kana shodo, yet are free from preconceived ideas of Japanese traditions.
Despite her strong sense of responsibility to pass on the tradition to the next generation, her passion also lies in expressing through her unique style of art the various conflicts and struggles she has had in the past and present, such as the racism she experienced as a child, the lack of sense of belonging caused by the frequent geographical relocation, parents imposing their values on her, repeated miscarriages and conflict in the marriage.
There is no better tool than the Japanese traditional Kana characters to create such works, as kana characters were in particular the characters that Japanese aristocratic women had used since the Middle Ages to vent their feelings and express themselves.
Unfortunately, kana characters were abandoned and forgotten in Japan due to its complexity and the difficulty in passing down and acquiring the necessary skills. As Charles Chaplin has presciently described in his film, anything inefficient was banned in "Modern Times".
In creation, Akagawa uses only one type of brush and ink stone. Similar to the Western pointillism artist who create images by the contrast of dots, her works are created by the contrast of characters, which are produced through the pressure given to brush. Creating images through fluid and finely written characters is very time-consuming, however, Akagawa is proud to be inefficient. Akagawa believes that the massive time she spent writing to cure herself penetrates through her artworks and is capable of curing whoever who stands before her artworks and spends time to gaze them.
(Filmed in 2012)
Special Thanks to Kennin-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
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