Joan Takayama-Ogawa: Ceramic Beacon

40
lauria
(FIG. 16)
Plate Tectonics:
Japanese American
Dinnerware
1992
Glazed earthenware,
wood
41
casting a light on change
In successive series, Takayama-
Ogawa broadens her incisive, critical
perspective to comment on global
issues: the climate crisis, the economic
impact of national and state politics and
policies, the addiction to fossil fuels, and
the vulnerability of America’s healthcare
system. Upon close inspection, one
discovers that Takayama-Ogawa had
foregrounded the perils of climate change in her work thirty years
ago, beginning with the wall sculpture Plate Tectonics: Japanese
American Dinnerware, 1992 (FIG. 16). Six interlocking geometric
Japanese bento boxes—for food presentation—appear to pull apart
from the central island that simulates a colorful coral reef. The
shifting plates floating adrift in the pristine blue Hawaiian waters
forewarn seismic disaster and reef destruction.
The more recent sculptures on the theme of climate change,
Bleached Coral Chandeliers, 2015 (FIG. 17), Kauai Black Coral,
2018–2022 (FIG. 18), and Reflections on Climate Change, 2022 (FIG.
19), are witnesses to the fulfillment of Takayama-Ogawa’s prediction.
These sculptures address the eco-impact of global climate
change, specifically the threat to oceans and marine life due to
the rising water temperature. One early casualty has been the
bleaching of coral and the dying of coral reefs, phenomena that
Takayama-Ogawa observed decades ago while swimming off the
shores of Hawaii. Her stark white ceramic chandelier, carved with
irregular surfaces and piercings, denotes the damaging effects of
global warming on the coral species (FIG. 17). The increased water