About Samba and I

I am currently working on the new body of work that traces the quiet tension between human and planetary time. Through uranium glass, weathered plastics, and costume, I assemble fragile constellations that reflect our fleeting presence and lasting impact—inviting reflection on how we relate to the planet through material, memory, and time.  

Drawn from historical photographs, the painting reflects how the atomic bomb became a spectacle—romanticised through tourism and surreal beauty contests. Performers echo this with soft, billowing costumes shaped like mushroom clouds, once worn by pageant winners. Beneath the painting’s cheerful surface, the somber performance takes viewers to an alternative reality beneath the cloud.

'A thousand' holds special meaning in Japanese culture, believed to carry magical and protective power. During the war, women stood in the streets, asking one thousand passerby to stitch a French knot into muslin cloth. These stitches formed a belt,  —sennin-bari—. a charm to protect loved ones heading to battle. It didn’t stop bullets or bombs, but it became a symbol of love, resilience, and a collective hope: that we will never make the same mistake again. 

The painting reflects the emotional weight of this tradition in an abstract visual language, each mark a thread of memory and longing.