GALLERY HOURS
Tuesday to Saturday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM | Free Admission
Ichigo Ichie - the fruit that bears secrets
Opening Reception:
Saturday, September 13 | 2:00–4:00 PM
Exhibition:
September 13 – December 20, 2025
About the Exhibition
Ichigo Ichie – The Fruit that Bears Secrets is a solo exhibition by multi-disciplinary artist Cindy Mochizuki.
Ichigo Ichie roughly translates to ‘once in a lifetime’, which speaks to the dream of Issei (Japanese-born immigrants) to come to Canada for new opportunities. Issei worked hard to cultivate farmland in an unfamiliar (and sometimes hostile) environment. Their lives were disrupted when World War II broke out, and 22,000 men, women and children were forced into internment camps under the War Measures Act.
Through mediums of digital animation and immersive installation, this exhibition explores the history of Japanese Canadian berry farmers who settled and worked in the Fraser Valley prior to World War II. The foundation of Mochizuki’s art practice is memory work with Nikkei (Japanese immigrants and their descendants), by visiting and collecting their stories about the past, many of whom were children at the time.
A central artwork in this exhibition is a large-scale projection of a 60-minute, hand-painted animation titled Autumn Strawberry (2021) detailing Nikkei farming life. Compass (2017) is an installation that presents choices and paths forced by war. Three-dimensional works include puppets and props from each film.
About the artist
Cindy Mochizuki creates multi-media installation, animation, drawing, audio fiction, performance, public artworks, films and community-engaged projects. She has exhibited her work in Canada, US, Australia, and Japan. Recent exhibitions include the Art Gallery at Evergreen, Kamloops Art Gallery, Prince Takamado Gallery, and Nanaimo Art Gallery. She has created scenography and animation design for theatre companies including the Arts Club Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Rumble Theatre, Theatre Replacement, and Little Onion Puppet. Her permanent installation Seiko Udoku (2025) is part of the Remembering the Lost Legacy of the Japanese Canadian Farming Community in Maple Ridge projects which can be viewed at the CEED Centre in Maple Ridge. She has received the Vancouver’s Mayor’s Arts Award in New Media and Film (2015) and the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award (2020).
