TOKYO - First International Art Exhibit

In September 2025, I had the incredible opportunity to showcase my original artworks — Kalo and Le Pasefika — at the Design Festa Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. This was my first international art exhibit, a milestone that built on years of exhibiting across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Each of those local shows helped prepare me for this moment — stepping onto the global stage.

Preparing for the Exhibit ✈️

Traveling from Maryland to Japan with my original artwork was both exciting and nerve-wracking. These pieces weren’t just objects in my suitcase; they represented hours of dedication, patience, and passion — the very best of my creative process carried across the ocean.

When I finally unpacked them in Tokyo, I felt both relief and pride. They had made it safely, and they were ready to meet the world.

My Style: Why Ink Matters

My art spans different mediums, each carrying its own voice. With acrylics, my style bridges realism and impressionism — capturing light, form, and movement in ways that feel vivid yet atmospheric. With watercolor and colored pencils, I pair them with fine ink pens to draw out intricate details, creating layered works that balance softness with precision and invite viewers to look closer.

I work with fine-tip artist pens, often as small as 0.05, to pull out the details that make a piece feel alive. With watercolor, I create softness and flow; with colored pencil, I build depth and richness. Ink is what sharpens those layers — tracing the veins of a leaf, defining the edges of a flower petal, or guiding the rhythm of a wave.

For me, ink is not just an outline — it’s the structure and clarity that invites viewers to look closer. It balances softness with precision, turning each piece into something both expressive and exact.

Le Pasefika 🌊🌺

The Pacific Ocean connects all island nations, including Samoa, where my roots are. In Le Pasefika, the wave is not just water — it is the pathway of voyaging canoes, the road of migration, and the tie between islands and people. For generations, Pacific Islanders have relied on the ocean not as a barrier but as a bridge, guided by the constellations above. The presence of stars and shooting stars in the piece reflects this — a reminder of how our ancestors navigated thousands of miles across open water using only the heavens, the wind, and the waves as their map.

On the left, a partial face gazes outward, her hair transforming into the ocean itself. As a Pacific Island woman artist, this figure represents the way identity and beauty flow directly from the sea. In our culture, hair has always been a symbol of pride and expression, and here it becomes the ocean — powerful, nurturing, and endlessly moving, just like the communities it connects.

The tropical flowers — ginger, heliconia, and bird-of-paradise — bloom as vibrant markers of island life, grounding the piece in the richness of land and culture. A hidden canoe rests within the composition, a quiet tribute to the navigators who read the stars, swells, and skies to link our islands long before modern maps existed.

Le Pasefika is about more than one figure; it is an envisioning of the Pacific itself — the ocean, the stars, the people, and the cultures held together across distance. It is a celebration of beauty, connection, and resilience, seen through my own perspective as an artist rooted in this heritage.

Kalo 🌱

Talo (kalo in Hawaiian) is a staple crop across Polynesia and carries deep meaning in Samoan culture. It’s a plant that sustains families, celebrated in meals, ceremonies, and traditions. In Samoa, talo represents life and provision — a reminder that the land and the people are inseparably linked.

In this piece, the overlapping leaves are drawn close, like family gathered together. The detailed ink veins mirror the intricate patterns found in siapo (tapa cloth) and tatau, tying the plant to wider cultural art forms. The dark background allows the leaves to stand boldly forward, as if saying: this is more than food, this is heritage.

For Pacific people, talo is not just grown — it is respected. Planting, harvesting, and preparing it are community acts that bind families together. By bringing Kalo into the gallery, I wasn’t only showing a plant; I was showing a symbol of survival, unity, and the daily rhythms of island life.

Experiencing Tokyo

Beyond the gallery, Tokyo itself was unforgettable. Each day was filled with discoveries that made the trip feel larger than life.

• Baseyard Tokyo – Naruto Exhibit: As a longtime anime fan, stepping into the Naruto displays at Baseyard Tokyo was pure nostalgia. Seeing life-sized standees of Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi up close reminded me of the creativity that Japanese pop culture inspires around the world.

• Jordan World of Flight Tokyo: Visiting this iconic space was like entering a temple of sports history. Michael Jordan’s handprints, his story of legacy, and the bold murals reminded me that greatness starts with small beginnings — a message that resonated with me as an artist standing in Tokyo for the first time.

• Senso-ji Temple: Tokyo’s oldest temple was a powerful contrast to the city’s neon lights. The vibrant red gates, lanterns, and surrounding markets were buzzing with life. Walking through it gave me perspective — tradition and modernity exist side by side, much like how I merge ink with watercolor and colored pencil.

• Mt. Fuji & Chureito Pagoda: This was one of the most breathtaking views I’ve ever experienced. Standing at the pagoda, looking out across the city with Mt. Fuji rising above the clouds, I felt both small and deeply grateful. It reminded me why I take risks — to see, to experience, to grow.

Every corner of Tokyo inspired me, whether it was late-night Lawson snack runs, city streets lit up with billboards, or the quiet stillness of shrines tucked into busy districts.

The Exhibit at Design Festa Gallery 🎨

Walking into the gallery with Kalo and Le Pasefika in hand felt surreal. Once they were on the walls, the reality set in: my art was now part of Tokyo. Visitors stopped, studied, and reacted in their own ways. Some asked thoughtful questions, while others simply stood quietly and took it all in.

It was a reminder that art doesn’t need translation — it communicates on its own. Watching strangers connect with my work in another country was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career so far.

Looking Back

This trip was about more than just displaying artwork. It was about growth, stepping outside of my comfort zone, and seeing my vision expand internationally. Having already exhibited in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia, Tokyo felt like the natural next step — the beginning of taking my art beyond the U.S.

What’s Next

Tokyo is just the beginning. I’ll always remember this first exhibit abroad as the moment everything felt real — like all the planning, effort, and persistence had finally taken shape.

For anyone chasing a dream — trust your process, put in the work, and don’t be afraid to take your art somewhere new. You never know how far it can take you.

-Fa'atasiga 🎨🌏