OHSAKI Kumaichi
Born: 23 August 1878 – Died: 5 October 1943
Particulars:
Kumaichi was born in Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Although he had a wife and son living in Nagasaki Prefecture, he was working as a fisherman in Semarang in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, when the Pacific War broke out. He was taken to Australia and interned at Loveday Internment Camp in South Australia. He died at the age of 65. His grave is in the Japanese Cemetery in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
–Mayu Kanamori
More info:
Helen Wagner
Artist/s Statement:
Kumaichi sama’s life journey connects with my shared experience of geographic mobility across countries. Being born in one country, working in another, and spending time in Australia created a meaningful foundation for my interest in his story because we have parallel life journeys. I drew on my childhood friendship with an Indonesian classmate, enjoying Indonesian cuisine, Wayang puppets, and using Indonesian commands when playing with her pet dog to deepen my connection. Having studied Kerala mural painting at Vijnana Kalavedi in Kerala, I turned to water soluble oil paints, which were used in this work celebrating Kumaichi sama’s life. An underlying style influence is my fascination with water, with blending shades and forms that merge into one another, representing the fluidity of life. Japanese Buddhist beliefs and Indonesian traditional perspectives on water as a sacred element align, and act as a unifying force in the celebration of his precious life.
Artist Bio:
Helen Wagner is an Australian lawyer, teacher and artist born in Melbourne in 1959. As a lawyer, she fought for compensation for workers with silicosis in Hong Kong.
In 1993, she went to live in India and worked in the community as a street artist. Most of her work can be found on the exteriors of buildings, railway stations, and boundary walls. Two projects were undertaken with the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, collaborating with local artists and neighbourhood children to bring colour to their lives and their walls.