I was originally scheduled to spend the summer of 2020 on a tour in Europe after finishing all my scheduled shows in Japan. However, all the events were canceled with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. With strict lockdown orders being enforced and international travel being banned in March of 2020, I had to decide between staying until my VISA ran out or quickly returning to California and focusing on my studio practice at home.
I choose to stay in Japan and pursue my work there. On the brighter side of things, my time there created many opportunities in Japan for me. I was able to find an artist in residence program in the city of Onomichi. It was here I started to work on the piece I later titled “Coping with Corona”. I spent the month of April playing with new ideas and creating new forms trying to just find my place and center in a new country and a new reality.