Hope Koyama

I use art as a vehicle to illustrate my admiration and appreciation for subjects I connect to. I also take interest in portraiture through various mediums such as oil painting, ink drawings, and charcoal drawings. For most of my work, I am drawn to portraying relationships and intimacy, investigating the subjects’ interactions with one another, and what that can reveal about them in a cultural context. I am also interested in how light and shadow interact with the skin and how it interrelates to surface and space. Most often I find myself referencing my cultural background in my artwork, whether it be how my culture influenced my perspective of certain things or ways I pay homage to certain traditions. Topics I address in my work are heavily influenced by the investigation of my cultural background and familial history. I also like to reference symbols that are significant to my upbringing and what I associate with my heritage. It has provided me with an understanding of how Eastern and Western households relate, interact, as well as conflict. Through my work, I would like to be a source of representation for individuals in marginalized communities I identify with.