Knowing Yana

Paper Connection had the privilege of assisting in with the paper for a very special exhibit honoring the life and artwork of    Yana Filkovsky-Saito.  Her surviving husband Zen Saito,  organized and curated this special showing of Yana’s photomontage images; she called “vertipology”, plus some color drawings.  The exhibit was called Half-Life-Time-Capsules and was displayed at Gallery Sitka from late July to late August.  Certain pieces are currently hung at Gallery Sitka West and by the end of the year, all pieces will move to a new memorial gallery/museum called YAM- Yana’s Art Museum; now under construction in Bonaire.

In reading her artist statement, we thought the following truly articulated her goal of the pieces shown in Half-Life-Time-Capsules.  Yana says: “My hope is that my work would resonate with a viewer regarding their own experience, which may be deeply personal, yet simultaneously universal in its essence. If it evokes a reassuring sense of strange familiarity, or familiar strangeness, in even just one of all viewers, then it has struck that chord.”

Fighting illness since she was a child, Yana’s life may not have been an easy one, but her story continues to inspire us.  Yana’s strong desire to connect, comes through her photography and unique vision. We are fortunate we can return to her amazing artwork to know her more; to learn of her brilliance with art and technology.

Thank you Yana.  Your beautiful creations connected us to new aspects of Japanese papers, new digital photography techniques, but most importantly you bonded us to very special people in this world.

All of Yana;s photomontage images and color drawings exhibited were printed on a Canon iPF6400 on AIJP Bamboo Paper now stocked at Paper Connection.  Click here for more information.

Photos above by Zen Saito, Lawrence Libby and Paperwoman.