Omote Ura 表裏 opens with Hina matsuri as an invocation to the resurgent spirit of a spring river after the winter thaw.

In times of systemic change, matsuri rituals can be a collective container for processes of endings into beginnings. Through the works of three Nikkei artists, Nami Ueno, Marina Van Raay, and Yuka Yamaguchi, the exhibition examines the relational interdependence between the unseen ura that activates the omote of visible change and renewal.

The fertile messiness of an artistic studio practice, or a queer “failure” needed in creative risk-taking and innovation, are the inner workings of emergence. Generative spillage in the hallways of the JCCC offers a new space to notice what quietly arises at the threshold of transformation and growth.

Verging on expectations of kawaii aesthetics, the artworks stray into unknown and contradictory terrains that ruffle edges of errancy and bold speculative futures, that omote the ura. The artists’ slow material practices in painting, ceramics and illustration wander the wilderness of liminal experience, as processes of evolution through feminist Nikkei perspectives that intersect personal and systemic transformations.

Artists

Nami Ueno

I am a visual artist from Japan working in painting, papercuts, and sculptures. My passion for art began early in life, leading me to study at the Kyoto University of Art and Design. As a single mother, I had to engage in various forms of labor over the years, but upon relocating to Toronto in 2016, I was finally able to fully embrace my artistic practice without any limitations related to my age or gender. This newfound creative freedom served as a powerful source of motivation, driving me to create art that inspires others to pursue their own dreams. Until 2019, I worked mainly in illustration. Through the 2020 mentorship program by TAC, I successfully expanded my artistic fields to create three-dimensional works. In July 2025, I returned to Japan, where I continue to deepen my practice and explore new directions in my art. My work investigates the relationships between the body, mind, power, and control, and how they are shaped by cultural ideas and biases that often perpetuate oppression. Through this exploration, I seek to illuminate hidden structures that influence our choices and perceptions, opening space for more authentic forms of expression.

Marina Van Raay

Marina Van Raay is a Canadian and Japanese ceramic artist based in Hamilton, Ontario. She is a graduate of the Craft and Design Bachelor’s program at Sheridan College and currently an Artist in Residence at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Van Raay was born in Japan and moved to Canada at the age of 5 and through her work, explores the cultural experiences that have shaped her life.

Yuka Yamaguchi

Born and raised in Japan, she is a self-taught artist whose practice began from an early fascination with the inner life of the body and mind. She studied social work before choosing to move to Canada--to challenge herself, to live beyond familiarity, and to experience cultural diversity firsthand. Life as an immigrant brought its own set of complexities. In navigating a new language, new landscapes, and shifting notions of belonging, she turned to drawing as a way to understand and express her evolving identity. After living in Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Kingston, she settled in Saskatoon, where she continues to create work rooted in intuition, memory and the intimate dialogue between body and self.

Curator

Hitoko Okada

Hitoko Okada is a queer, Nikkei, interdisciplinary artist researcher based in Hamilton, Ontario. Since studying fashion design at the International Academy of Design in Toronto in 2005, their artistic practice has evolved across theatre, fashion, installation and curatorial projects. Their current research explores queering futurities through Japanese indigo as an interspecies yokai. Their work in costumes includes seasons at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, The Grand Theatre in London, Mirvish Productions in Toronto. Their artistic projects and collaborations have been presented across Southern Ontario including Cambridge Art Galleries, Art Gallery of Burlington, Centre for Artistic and Social Practice, Cobalt Connects, The Garden of Repairs, and The Royal Botanical Gardens. Okada has deepened her practice through national and international residencies including Banff Centre for the Arts, The Art Gallery of Ontario, in Canada; Haystack Mountain School of Craft in USA; Kawashima Textile School in Kyoto; and at Awonoyoh with master indigo dyer Takayuki Ishii in Kanagawa, Japan. Their work has been recognized through multiple grants and awards. Okada is a member of the Double Pendulum interdisciplinary performance group in Hamilton, and volunteers with Backyard Harvest Organic Urban Farms for continuous learning.