Where a Forest Once Grew

During 2021, my Grandmother, Ruth Kobayashi, passed away and my family came together to clean her home. In this process, I found objects my Grandmother kept throughout her life and I began to photograph each piece I discovered. Each of these images has become a life-sized, backlit panel in a set of 13, displayed within a storefront. In looking through her possessions, a memory of her reading, Where the Wild Things Are came to mind. I would imagine the carpet becoming grass and the forest from the story taking hold of the room around us. “Where a Forest Once Grew” is an exploration of the belongings my Grandmother left behind and is dedicated to her and her memory

This project has been co-sponsored by The George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award and UCLA's Asian American Studies Center.

Installation was shown within Westwood Village, and could be seen through the glass windows.

Where a Forest Once Grew

Installation was shown within Westwood Village, and could be seen through the glass windows.

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LUA KOBAYASHI

Where a Forest Once Grew

Please click on the images below to learn more about each of the objects;