When I was a little girl, I remember my grandmother carefully dipping paint brushes into crimson ink and sweeping the bristles across a white page. Black branches would appear slowly but deliberately on the paper with every brushstroke. Soon the branches would be adorned with deep red and pink blossoms—a cherry blossom tree.
I've been thinking a lot about the origins of cherry blossoms, their rise in popularity, and their significance in Asian culture. I created a video portrait of cherry blossoms composed of found footage as well as my own media. I wanted to include the white male American voice within this portrait as it represents how Asian culture is perceived by the United States. All of the found videos of cherry blossoms were taken in Japan, the animation is from Studio Ghibli’s “The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and the song, Fune Ni Yurarete, is by Meiko Kaji.
