Daruma of Resilience II, 2024
Daruma of Resilience II, 2024
Photocopied archival documents, custom sticky notes, wood, paper, acrylic paint, Aqua-Resin, and recycled polystyrene.
Minimum dimensions for this installation: 84' x 106" x 4".
The spirit of resilience is reflected in the Japanese legend of Daruma, or Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who meditated so devotedly that his arms and legs withered away from non-use. He became a symbol of dedication to a goal and resilience through adversity, always bouncing back up after a fall. From this grew the custom of making wishes or goals with paper-mache Daruma figures. When someone receives a Daruma, they make a wish and paint in one eye. When their goal is achieved, they paint in the other eye.
Daruma of Resilience II is a diptych showing Daruma upon a collaged backdrop of copies of government documents displaying the United States' history of on-going struggles with bigotry and racism. Documents pertaining to the Incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW2 and subsequent steps toward Redress adorn the Daruma figure whose surface is collaged with definitions of words such as; resilience, perseverance, hope, and gaman. Visitors are invited to write their wishes for change on Daruma sticky notes that will be added to the artwork’s border. Daruma of Resilience II encourages the viewer to consider how our country's path toward freedom and equality requires constant vigilance, and to achieve our dreams we must keep trying. Like Daruma, we get back up after falling down.