From Uprooting to Renewal: Tsuneko Kokubo + Barb “Miiko” Gravlin
The Community Fund has successfully distributed grants to individuals, groups and organizations to rebuild community through Scholarships, Arts, Sports, Community Projects, Infrastructure, and IG Wellness. With the release of two new videos spotlighting the arts, JC Legacies shares the stories of Tsuneko Kokubo – known to her friends as Koko – who was born in Steveston and trapped in Japan during the war, and Barb “Miiko” Gravlin, born in Tashme. These two lifelong artists from both sides of the country generously share their stories with us. We will be showcasing projects from the various JC Legacies programs over the coming two years.
Tsuneko Kokubo – Following the Water
“I am grateful to have had a year to focus on this overwhelmingly emotional journey with the ancestors. Gradually their voices fade and the only sound is water moving. It has been not a ‘walk down memory lane’ but a walk alongside memory river, with the water holding all together. The canvas may end but the water will keep on – nurturing trees, shrubs, moss and all the many creatures, on its way to the ocean.” – Tsuneko Kokubo
Tsuneko Kokubo was born in Steveston, BC in 1937. Stranded in Japan during the war, she did not return to Canada until 1954. A practising artist in her late 80s, Koko lives and works in Silverton, BC. “Following the Water”, created with JC Legacies funding, marks Koko’s most ambitious undertaking to date. She created one of three monumental canvases, each measuring 30 feet long by 5 feet tall that weave a powerful narrative that explores the profound impact water has to shape and define both the physical environment and the human experience. The catalyst and inspiration behind this series of works can be found in the sites of former Japanese Canadian internment camps. At each site, Koko documented the landscape with a particular focus on the bodies of water adjacent to each location.
Barb “Miiko” Gravlin
“The journey became the reawakening of a buried past that demanded scrutiny and healing. Closure – the events and experiences that are part of my life history are accepted and embraced. Rebirth – a future full of hope that’s no longer blighted with the melancholia of the past.” – Barb “Miiko” Gravlin
Toronto-based artist Barb “Miiko” Gravlin was born in Tashme, the largest of the internment camps, in 1943. At an early age, she became an abstract painter under mentors Richard Gorman, Mashel Teitelbaum, and Kazuo Nakamura. In 1965, she was the recipient of a Canada Council Travel grant in painting for six months tenure studying at Sophia University in Japan. Now in her 80s, an Arts grant from JC Legacies has been a journey of rediscovery. It was, she has said, a long-awaited gift – closure and rebirth – resulting in the creation of 10 new, large paintings and a self-published book, A Journey to Abstraction – Becoming Miiko, that describes her early path as an abstract expressionistic painter. Through this creative journey, a sense of self worth and identity came into focus with lighter visions on the palette and no boundaries on expression.