Tsuchi is a solo interdisciplinary performance piece. It draws from Mitsu's great- grandfather’s experience of immigrating from Japan to Hawaii as a farmer and then pursuing his dream of becoming a high-end waiter. During the piece there is a lecture with a slideshow of family photos. The family photos are represented by sumi-e drawings. Sumi-e is Japanese ink painting and references the nostalgia which these photos conjure. At first the photos are referential but throughout the lecture become more and more abstract. The abstraction is meant to convey the overlapping of Mitsu’s histories with her grandfather, such as the squiggly lines that represents parallel travels and labor.
Originally it was created with Japanese black ink on watercolor paper 8.5 x 11 inches and then projected for performance.
This piece has been presented at Chicago Cultural Center, High Concept Labs, Links Hall, Legions Hall Pasadena, Iowa University, Julius Caesar, Studerbacker Theater, Indianapolis Museum of Art and Urbanguild Kyoto.
