and again and again now that we know we know we know
2026
series of 18 drawings
The curved lines in and again and again now that we know we know we know take after Roy Miki’s use of parentheses in his poetic work. In poems like “Kome’s Story” and “The Fronds on Galiano,” I noticed how Miki would open parentheses without later closing them, sometimes opening multiple in a single poem, evoking a margin that continuously grows. Reflecting on Miki’s writing and activism (the latter of which he has described as a continuous process of change and negotiation) during the current rise in anti-migrant policies, I began drawing parentheses with coloured pencils, repeating and layering them until the parentheses took on a structural role in the composition, similar to how a stitch functions in embroidery or a row of thread functions in weaving. and again and again now that we know we know we know continues my inquiry into textiles, agriculture, and other repetitive forms of labour, using materials such as thread, fabric, pine needles, and now, coloured pencils, to think through themes of precarity, sustenance, and persistence.
— artist statement for The Capilano Review’s love bends / the mover: The Roy Miki Issue