The Nose Knows

The Nose Knows

Acrylic on Canvas

24" x 36"

2015

For the Giant Robot 2015 Biennale (Hosted by the Japanese American National Museum), I decided to create a painting that has distinct "east meets west" ideas. "The Nose Knows" combines Disney's "Pinocchio" with the Japanese "Tengu". 

My reasoning for bringing the two elements together is simple: They both have long noses. I remember the first time I saw a tengu mask. Asides from the obvious phallic suggestions, my next though was that it reminded me of Pinocchio. Anyways, I thought the Japanese American National Museum would be the perfect venue to debut such an idea.
I consider this the second in a series of paintings I call "East Meets West". The first being my painting "Boba"

Boba

Boba

Acrylic on Wood Panel

18" x 24"

2014

For Corey Helford Gallery's final show in their original space, they chose to host "Pop-Eyeconic", a group show with a Pop/Icon theme. This was the perfect opportunity to bust out an idea I'd been sitting on for a couple years now: "Boba".
To me, "Boba" was a simple, almost obvious, visual pun. I was honestly surprised I hadn't seen it yet. Combine Boba Fett (the infamous bounty hunter from Star Wars) with Boba Milk Tea (a popular tea based drink featuring "boba" or tapioca balls).  Both of these things have played some kind of role in my life. As a child, the character Boba Fett and the Kenner action figure were hugely popular to me. And as a young asian american adult, I'd indulge in Boba Milk Tea whenever I visited my folks in the San Gabriel Valley. For the painting, I also added a hoodie because it's one of my favorite articles of clothing. 
"Boba" will be available as a limited edition print from my friends at 1xRun on April 11th, 2014.