Artist Emi Motokawa talks with LAist about the role Buddhism plays in her art.
Buddhism influences my work tremendously. My fascination is Buddhist concepts such as oneness, universality, compassion, and human nature. I try to take these old concepts and express through a pop, modern picture. By doing this, it helps me to deepen my own spirituality. It’s a very fun process for me and my drive is to become better at it. Right now, I am painting caricatures of different bodhisattvas that appear in Buddhist sutras.
You can buy some of her unique “Krokeshi” dolls from the Japanese American National Museum store.