University of Hawai‘i’ at Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace put on an exhibit in 2023 showcasing the devastating events of the nuclear bombs, and how we can move forward in the future.

With the bombings of Pearl Harbor, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima being known as some of the infamous tragedies of nuclear war, I chose to integrate these places into the artwork for Matsunaga Institute for Peace’s exhibition, Building a Nuclear Free World. While doing my research, I noticed that nuclear explosions resembled the shape of a tree, so I chose trees to represent these places. Placed on the left and right sides, a sakura tree stands in front of Mount Fuji and the Native Hawaiian tree, ´Ohi´a Lehua stands in front of Big Island’s Mauna Loa. These trees meet in the middle and grow over the nuclear explosion, symbolizing that the peace that can form between Japan and Hawai´i can continue to grow not only between these two places, but between anyone and anywhere else in the world. I also wanted to work with a style that pays homage to traditional Japanese woodblock paintings. I used flat shapes and colors, but also added a soft layer of texture to every color to try to evoke a subtle glow throughout