Rujunko Pugh

Rujunko Pugh was born in Japan in 1970 to a Japanese mother and African-American father. Raised in California and North Carolina, Rujunko has lived around the world in places including Hawaii, Washington D.C. and Sydney, Australia.

Her practice is based on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia). She initially studied molecular bioscience and bioengineering. Now, she works across various media including printmaking, installation, street art and murals. Her art draws on Japanese, African and African-American found imagery to explore themes such as identity, history, culture and race as well as global movements of people, ideas and technologies. She also investigates methods to dismantle generalized notions of race and identity, and to initiate discourse about oppressive stereotypes within dominant power structures. She has completed a Master of Fine Art from the University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts and has exhibited in Australia, the United States, Italy, New Zealand, Kenya and Spain.