Artist Statement

Miriam Omura’s practice includes textiles, ceramics, and alternative photographic methods. Her material processes are guided by a research practice of delving into newspaper archives, genealogy, and other resources about her subjects. Exploring themes of personal and community loss, Omura navigates the known and unknown details surrounding missing and unidentified individuals. Her art invites an exploration of the intersections of materiality, history, and emotion. Omura holds a BFA in Fiber and Material Studies and a MA in History and Art History.

Background to the work

Memories result is a translation that acts as an interpretation of an event.

The memories we recall can be intentionally or accidentally distorted, changing without our realization. When memories are retrieved, they fuse with other memories to produce an unclear view that sits between truth and fiction. As a memory is recalled, it becomes layered and reshaped by the chemical process of retrieval in the brain. I hope to visually capture these ideas within my work, showing the intangible aspects of memory.

As an immigrant, I have found my place through trying to understanding culture and place. This began with my past work, which dealt with personal identity through memory and family history connected to England and Sri Lanka. In recent years, that focus shifted to exploring broader overlapping concerns that intersect with identity and social issues. Building on ideas of perspective and perception developed in my past work. I have attempted to understand and ask questions about who and what makes up society around us in a way that invited conversation and further investigation on the part of the viewer.

-miriam