By: Joel Nakamura

Medium: mixed polymers on hand tooled tin panel
Year: circa 2004
Image Size: 10 × 8 inches
Unique

Joel Nakamura’s Recuerdenme (Remember Me) is a luminous meditation on memory, mortality, adorned with elaborate markings and surrounded by symbolic motifs—skulls, flowers, and celestial shapes—that recall the iconography of Día de los Muertos. The tin frame, echoing traditional retablos and ex-votos, reinforces the devotional quality of the piece. By fusing contemporary technique with folkloric themes, Nakamura transforms Recuerdenme into both a celebration and a memorial: a visual reminder that the act of remembering is itself a sacred gesture, linking the living with the ancestors who came before.