​Blood On My Hands, Fish In My Veins constructs a historical fiction that considers the improbable ways images, histories, and inheritance become intertwined. Through family photographs and images from wartime propaganda, American cartoons and Japanese animation, the exhibition explores the parallel lives of the artist’s two grandfathers: one an American soldier during World War II, the other a child who witnessed the bombing of Tokyo. The work considers the broader visual relationship between Japan and the United States, and the ways personal histories become entangled with national ones.

Enlarged comparative photographs of the artist’s paternal and maternal grandparents Pictured: George Kenneth Clayton (1925–2012), Virginia Ruth Cadwell Clayton (1928–2003), Mitsuo Murai 村井 光雄 (1932–2010), Masa Murai 村井 まさ (b. 1934) Variable Dimensions

'Cowboy Kermit', 2026, Image of Japanese bootleg Mickey Mouse (ca. 1930s) hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s paternal great-uncle, Kermit Clayton, who died in a Japanese POW camp in 1942. 12 x 16 in.

'That sure was a good apple', 2026, Image of Tulip the Ladybug from Japanese short animated film, Kumo to Tulip (くもとちゅうりっぷ, Kenzo Masaoka, 1943) hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s paternal grandfather aboard a naval ship (ca. 1950). 30 x 40 in.

'Camel Caravan', 2026, Image of a character from a Camel Cigarettes workprint (Mortera Productions, ca. 1960s) hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s maternal grandfather at a ski resort in Nagano, Japan (ca.1950s). 30 x 40 in.

'Stone’s Throw', 2026, A wrapped rock collected from Pickwick Lake in Iuka, Mississippi near the artist’s paternal grandfather’s home, hand sewn onto silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s maternal grandfather (ca. 1947). 18 x 24 in.

'Stone's Throw' (detail)

'Blood On My Hands, Fish In My Veins', 2026, Image of Japan’s Type 91 torpedo and America’s Little Boy atomic bomb hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph the artist’s paternal grandfather took of his fishing haul (ca. 1967). 24 x 24 in.

'Kodomotachi', 2026, Enlarged scanned photo collage of the artist’s paternal grandfather (left, ca. 1932) and the artist’s maternal grandfather’s school class (ca. 1940). 24 x 36 in.

Top: 'Astro Cowboys', 2026, Image of Astroboy (Osamu Tezuka, 1952) embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s father and his two older brothers (1958). 5 x 7 in. Bottom: 'Across Bodies of Water', 2026, Shells collected from Pickwick Lake in Iuka, Mississippi near the artist’s paternal grandfather’s home, sewn onto silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s maternal grandparents’ wedding (ca. 1959). 5 x 7 in. Left: 'Tsuri', 2026, Fishing hook sewn onto silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s maternal grandfather (left) and his younger brother, Kazuo Hayano 早野 和雄 (ca. 1949). 9 x 12 in.

'How Deep is the Ocean?', 2026, Image of The U.S. Navy VF-31 squadron insignia (1935) featuring Felix the Cat (Otto Messmer & Pat Sullivan, 1919) hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s maternal grandfather (ca. 1947). 30 x 40 in.

'How Deep is the Ocean?' detail

'Let’s Rocket!', 2026, Image of Astroboy (Osamu Tezuka, 1952) embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s paternal grandfather aboard the USS Princeton CV-37 (ca. 1953). 24 x 24 in.

'Ningyo', 2026, Image of a Barbie doll (Ruth Handler, Mattel, 1958) and a G.I. Joe doll (Stanley Weston & Donald Levine, Hasbro, 1964) hand embroidered on silk organza and stretched over a photograph of the artist’s grandfather in Japan (ca. 1994). 18 x 24 in.

'Time Beings', 2026, Enlarged scanned photo collage of the artist’s maternal grandfather (left, ca. 1952) and the artist’s paternal grandfather (ca. 1960). 24 x 24 in.

'Blood On My Hands, Fish In My Veins' (book), 2026, 48 (9x12 in.) mixed media works on paper explore the visual relationship between Japan and the United States. Images from family photographs, wartime propaganda, and self portraits are combined with cartoon and anime characters, constructing a historical fiction that considers how personal histories become entangled with national ones. Book box by Jerry Bedor Phillips

'The Matriarchs', 2026, Enlarged scanned photo collage of the artist’s paternal grandmother (left, 1959) and the artist’s maternal grandmother (right, ca. 1951). 18 x 24 in.

'Light, Water, and Humidity', 2026 Enlarged scanned photo collage of the artist’s paternal grandfather (top, ca. 1980s) and the artist’s maternal grandfather (bottom, ca. 1993) archival inkjet print mounted on wood. 24 x 24 in.