Art Museo at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare welcomes the arrival of Islands, an introspective photography exhibit by Emily Hanako Momohara. Open to the public, the show opens April 7 and runs through mid-June.

This exhibition showcase Momohara’s investigation into ways landscape can be a metaphor for immigration, myth and legacy as it relates to her personal experience. During a fact-finding trip to Okinawa, Momohara discovered that family stories passed through generations — including her last name — were incorrect.

“It was said our family lived on an island after our namesake, Momohara,” she said. “I imagined it to be small and isolated. Maybe even abandon by now. However, when we did find our family in Okinawa, the reality was not so.

“I am interested in intersection of myth and fact,” Momohara continued. “Legacy is composed of our memories and the passing down of stories. Remembrances may not be factual, however are important to how we define ourselves.”

Islands represents Momohara’s relationship to her family’s stories and culture. Photographs, shown as archival pigment prints in the form of scrolls, connect her family roots in Okinawa, time spent living in Hawaii and her studio in Cincinnati.

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