The Silence series first came out of my journey to write the “Silence and Beauty: Hidden Faith Born of Suffering” book (InterVarsity Press), prior to Martin Scorsese’s film, “Silence.” These works explore the extension of the recent Qu4rtets project, the earlier Junan Passion Panel series, and the installation series The Resurrection (collection of Yokohama Museum of Art). Waterfall Mansion Gallery in New York City has featured two exhibits “Silence and Beauty” (2016) and “Silence—Homage” (2017, May through July).
In writing about Shusaku Endo’s post-war masterpiece “Silence,” I’ve begun to connect the aesthetics of 17th century Japan to the ensuing 250 years of trauma and persecution of Christians in Japan. Silence series is to explore the hidden dimensions of beauty, a beauty born of sacrifice and trauma. This series of works also honors my father’s legacy in the study of speech and hearing sciences; depicting silence is also to depict what we “hear” through silence, to visually capture the “soundwaves” of silence. Many of the works in this series are pronounced in their refractive surfaces, and they are nearly impossible to photograph, so what is listed here is limited to the images that can be translated to digital media.