In Platemark s3e27, host Ann Shafer talks with Emma Nishimura, an artist and professor based in Toronto. Emma works in printmaking, photography, sculpture, and installation. Her work addresses ideas of inherited memory and trauma with a specific focus on the experiences her family and thousands of other Japanese Canadians endured during and following their forced incarceration during the Second World War.

Episode image: Ann Gaby-Trotz.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Blending In, 2008. Photogravure and thread. 14 x 14 x 1 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Kay age 17, 1937, 2017. Photoetching on flax and abaca. 3 x 3 x 2.5. Courtesy of the artist.

Furoshiki forms.

Three furoshiki forms from Rememory project on a shelf.

[INSTALLATION VIEW] Emma Nishimura: Rememory: Echoes and Archives. United Contemporary, Toronto. March 30–May 6, 2023.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Keo Shibatani, 2018. Etching and hand painting on gampi with wax. Sheet: 17 x 22 in. Courtesy of the artist.

[DETAIL] Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Keo Shibatani, 2018. Etching and hand painting on gampi with wax. Sheet: 17 x 22 in. Courtesy of the artist.

[INSTALLATION VIEW] Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Constructed Narratives. Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto, ON. 2015. Courtesy of the artist.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Revelstoke, 2013. Etching on gampi with wax and thread. Sheet: 15 ½ x 9 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist.

[DETAIL] Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Revelstoke, 2013. Etching on gampi with wax and thread. Sheet: 15 ½ x 9 ½ in. Courtesy of the artist.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Slocan Lake, 2013. Etching on gampi with wax and thread. 25 ½ x 15 in. Courtesy of the artist.

[DETAIL] Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Slocan Lake, 2013. Etching on gampi with wax and thread. 25 ½ x 15 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Michael Waugh (American, born 1967). Citizens United, 2020. Pen and black ink on Mylar. 45 x 69 in. (114.3 x 175.3 cm.). Courtesy Von Lintel Gallery.

[DETAIL] Michael Waugh (American, born 1967). Citizens United, 2020. Pen and black ink on Mylar. 45 x 69 in. (114.3 x 175.3 cm.). Courtesy Von Lintel Gallery.

Emma Nishimura (Canadian, born 1982). Printed by Atelje Larsen, Helsingborg, Sweden. Generational Echoes IV, 2019. Photoetching on Hahnemuhle paper. Sheet: 23 x 28 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Zarina (American, born India, 1937–2020). Atlas of My World (Six Works), 2001. Portfolio of 6 woodcuts. Sheet (each): 25 ½ x 19 ½ in. (64.8 x 49.5 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

 

USEFUL LINKS

Emma’s website: https://www.emmanishimura.com/

Emma’s Instagram: @emma.nishimura

Atelje Larsen: https://www.ateljelarsen.com/

Paper Borders: Emma Nishimura and Tahir Carl Karmall. Print Center New York. October 10–December 18, 2019. https://www.printcenternewyork.org/paperborders

Emma Nishimura: Rememory: Echoes and Archives. United Contemporary, Toronto. March 30–May 6, 2023. https://www.unitedcontemporary.com/exhibitions/55-emma-nishimura-rememory-echoes-and-archives/