Tsuneko Kokubo: Following The Water

Tsuneko Kokubo was born in the fishing village of Steveston, BC in 1937. In 1940, she journeyed across the Pacific Ocean with grandparents to visit relatives. Stranded in Japan and separated from her parents during the war, she did not return to Canada until 1954.

A practising artist in her late eighties, Koko lives and works in Silverton, BC, deep in the heart of Kootenays, the site of the Japanese Canadian internment of the 1940s. "Following the Water" marks Koko’s most ambitious undertaking to date. With arts funding from the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society Community Fund, she created one of three monumental canvases, each measuring 30 feet long by 5 feet tall that weave a powerful narrative that explores the profound impact water has to shape and define both the physical environment and the human experience.

The catalyst and inspiration behind this series of works can be found in the numerous field sketches done at the sites of former Japanese Canadian internment camps. At each site, Koko documented the landscape with a particular focus on the bodies of water adjacent to each location. During these visits, she created numerous preliminary sketches, which she later developed into a series of paintings in her studio.

https://tsunekokokubo.ca