Karen Takahashi

Based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Karen Takahashi is a multidisciplinary artist working predominantly with screen printing and media art. However, she also has a background in dance and theatre, which both consciously and subconsciously influences her working process as well as her works. Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Karen’s multicultural upbringing has naturally shaped her into a curious individual, influencing her to tap into different mediums and find different sources of inspiration.

“Because my interests spread across fields, my creative approach is definitely more multidisciplinary than singularly focused In print,” explains the artist. Karen is especially interested in using text to intersect contradicting elements/concepts in a way that they can be unified and co-exist. She describes; “This is my way of removing the binary, ‘this or that’ thinking in understanding myself and the world around me, and replacing the tendency to go ‘this or that’ with ‘this AND that’ to find a compromise between contrasting ideas”. Expressing these ideas combined with the physical process of screen printing is “freeing” for Karen. She uses text in her work to leave room for viewers to come up with their own mental image of what the text means to them. Karen states; “Thinking back to my childhood, I used to love drawing out alphabets, Japanese characters and texts a little more than doodling images…”

Currently, Karen is a 4th-year student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan’s Fine Arts program. While making prints, she is simultaneously working towards completing her thesis project which will be exhibited at the grad show in a few weeks. For the exhibition, Karen will be showcasing an audio interactive installation inspired by the principles of “listening” found in Jazz improvisation and tap dance, looking at how “listening” can facilitate collaboration between the audience. She tells us; “I came about this idea by simply wanting to intersect my practice in visual art with my love for tap dance and Jazz, which sort of ties back to what I do in screen printing as well”.

In terms of the future, Karen hopes to continue experimenting with both screen printing and interactive art, refining her creative voice by intersecting the things she loves in different mediums. She is planning on staying in Canada after graduation, and is looking forward to getting more involved in the creative community there and collaborating with creatives from various fields.

@takahakaren

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