Happy Pride! We are grateful to be celebrating Pride this year with artist Aya Borucki and their beautiful visual exploration of queer culture and non-binary experiences in Japan. Thank you, Aya, for sharing this piece with us as we seek to create ever more inclusive spaces, communities, and conversations.
Statement from the Artist:
As someone who moved from New England and has lived in Japan for nearly a year now, I wanted to make a piece that encompassed queer joy and parts of my Japanese heritage. Living in Japan, it’s rare to see visible queer pride. Growing up in Connecticut, as a mixed-asian kid, it was equally rare to see people who looked like me. I’m grateful to the queer community I found in Providence at RISD, and especially to my queer friends of color who encouraged me to explore both my gender identity and heritage.
To me, New England is home, but also a place that is not always kind to queer people of color. I included lavender (a flower that often symbolizes queerness) as a central focal point to represent those who have grown despite the circumstances, and various landscapes, from a colonial house, to Waterfire in Providence and to the green and white mountains.
It was also important for me to include a variety of identities, both in queerness and in representation of how broad being Japanese American can be. I took inspiration from various pride flags, and also aspects of Japanese culture from playing taiko to wearing kimono and attending summer festivals. To me, pride should cover the intersecting parts of my identity, and I hope one day to see them both play out openly.
– Aya Borucki, June 2024
About Aya:
Aya Borucki (they/them) is an illustrator, printmaker and comics artist from New England. They enjoy creating work with themes of nature and queerness and sometimes humor, often drawing on their Japanese heritage.
