This image is from the series “Islands” and features highly inventive, conceptual landscapes that explore the photographer’s personal history and at the same time our shared mythology of “islands”—places of isolation, seclusion, exoticism and paradise.

Emily Hanako Momohara grew up outside of Seattle, WA in a mixed-race family. Her work centers around issues of heritage, multiculturalism, immigration and social justice. Momohara has exhibited internationally including the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston, Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, OH, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, Changjiang International Photography & Video Biennale in Chongqing, China, Okinawa Prefectural Museum in Okinawa, Japan, among others. She earned a BFA in Photography and BA in Art History from the University of Washington, as well as her MFA in Expanded Media from the University of Kansas. She serves as Associate Professor of Studio Art at the Academy of Cincinnati. She is currently a board of trustee at the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center and member of Ohio Progressive Asian Women’s Leadership.