You can be part of an ongoing sculptural installation! Artist Hanako O'Leary will teach guests how to fold their own origami vulva from handmade shoji paper. Guests are invited to either take their finished piece home, or give it to Hanako to add to the ongoing installation of "Bakoku"[Mother's Country], featured in the "Bodies of Land" exhibition. All materials & light refreshments will be provided.

This is a drop-in event; guests are welcome to arrive at any time and join the workshop, or just socialize and enjoy the exhibition! Please RSVP if you plan to attend so we can prepare the appropriate materials for everyone.

Hanako O’Leary is a craft-based multimedia artist interpreting modern feminism through myth, metaphor and storytelling. In "Bodies of Land", she presents ceramic sculptures from her continuing Izanami series, which traces the mythology of the Shinto Goddess of life and death.

In her new site-specific installation, "Bakoku" [Mother’s Country], O’Leary explores the feminization of land and honors matrilineal heritage. A sculptural island rises from the ground, with its undulating curves suggesting a woman’s body, covered by hundreds of origami vulvas created by O’Leary and community participants.

“I made this piece imagining my mother’s homeland of the Setonaikai islands as a giant resting goddess. In a constant state of growth and decay, her body is an island resting in the ocean.” ~ Hanako O'Leary

Installation view of "Bakoku"

Artist Hanako O'Leary with one of her ceramic masks