Fumiko: Keeper of the Meek
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Object number4075
TitleFumiko: Keeper of the Meek
CreatorSally French
Descriptiondigital photography
Date2008
SubjectFigurative, Flower
Material400-PHOTOGRAPHY
Current locationState Capitol - Sen. Michelle Kidani
Dimensions
Image: 48 x 32
Overall: 50 3/4 x 35
Overall: 50 3/4 x 35
Acquired from"Artists of Hawaii 2009" - juried, multi-media (May 14 - August 16, 2009)
Credit lineState Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Art in Public Places Collection
Accompanying text"Fumiko: Keeper of the Meek" is a portrait of Fumiko, the primary character in the visual narrative "Wunderlust: The Keepers' Tale." This story is told through nineteen photographic panels, about a large blue Egg-man and those who care for him. Each Keeper has responsibilities, and a role within the community. Fumiko watches over the young, guards the weak, sets the calendar, yodels and yells all news throughout the land.
The story evolved from a previous series of paintings called "Sugar Soup," in which flawed super-heroines attempt to right injustice. Artist Sally French decided to continue the series through photography, a new medium for her, as she felt it would remove the obliterating personal marks in her mind and hand, and allow for spontaneous open dialogues with her subjects and locations. Photography also offers an ensemble-type format, in which a directive is given, but where the group dynamic ultimately determines the outcome.
The artist's daughter Aimee serves as the model for this image, as she calls upon the Wunderlust community to gather in the forests of Kokee for their annual spring festival. At this event, the Egg-man will transfer the DNA (containing lessons of the past) to all Keepers in the Land, ensuring peace and understanding will prevail. French intended her daughter to imbue the character with her own personality and sense of place. Aimee wears her own kimono, which she had used since childhood for Obon dances, imparting her own footprint into "Fumiko." Growing up on the island of Kauai, of mixed Japanese descent, her portrait encapsulizes her generation, Hawaii, and the year when the portrait was created.