KOKO’s House (as part of the KOKO’s Neighborhood solo exhibition), 2019, 14-channel mixed media video installation, 17:54, 50' x 42' x 17' tall
The University Art Gallery, California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, California
Photo Credit: Elon Schoenholz

Through the California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) PRAXIS Artist in Residence Program, I was given the opportunity to work with and expand my community of soap opera characters to include eleven art, design, and art history students. In the past, I have made spin-off shows from my normal episodic offerings, and this time around, KOKO’s Love has ventured into the world of reality television to become KOKO’s House, a totally scripted reality show, in the vein of the current Netflix Japanese reality show called Terrace House. In the existing Japanese reality show six young “beautiful” people live together (most of whom seem to be aspiring actors and models) and are hardly believable as indicative of my everyday world, whereas in KOKO’s House, three participants become part of my created dysfunctional Japanese American soap opera family, the Sakimoto’s, challenging even further the myth of the “model minority” and the underlying patriarchy in a family. 

For this project I had the privilege of working with eleven students (Israel Perez, Santos Nuñez, Christina Laybon, Richelle Caampued, Vanessa Renovales, Sierra Robles, Joe Smith, Jacqueline Mendoza, Andreinna Giron, Danielle Harris, and Brianna Correa). I first interviewed each of them to get a sense of where they stood with regards to the various characters of my soap opera KOKO’s Love e.g. some wanted to be students who were helping to find the missing daughter, another wanted to be the mean girl’s best friend, while others became participants in the house. I then took their input and wrote a script to include them in this reality show, KOKO’s House. The students were the consultants and major stars of this new variety program, as they performed their new roles as members of the whole show.

I was able to expand KOKO’s Love from the Sakimoto family to a new world and slightly larger “neighborhood” of characters to go beyond the usual insular family household in the regular show to include more perspectives and viewpoints from a diverse and fresh audience.

This solo exhibition is called KOKO’s Neighborhood: Welcome Home, which includes the installation inspired by KOKO’s House and the PRAXIS students.