Naoco Wowsugi

Naoco Wowsugi is a Japanese-born Korean conceptual artist based in the United States whose work has included photography, installation art, and performance art. Much of her art involves interactive elements, and explores themes of community and human connection to food, plants, and fungi.

Early life and education Wowsugi was born in Japan. Her Korean great-grandparents were brought to Japan as laborers; her grandparents and parents continued to live in Japan, but were not able to become citizens.

In 2001, Wowsugi emigrated to the United States and began attending the Kansas City Art Institute. She then pursued a masters degree in photography at Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2011.

Since 2012, Wowsugi has been undertaking the performance piece "None of Your Business", in which she makes surreptitious improvements to community spaces she visits. Such improvements included slowly installing artwork at a local bakery, leaving small cowbells at businesses without someone at the counter, and bringing a mug to a coffee shop to act as a straw holder.

In 2015, Wowsugi exhibited at Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, D.C.; the exhibit comprised pieces created by her students to wish her a happy birthday.

In 2015, Wowsugi created Group Portrait Journey in Rockville, Maryland, a photography exhibit showcasing the relationships of individuals who support the VisArts center in Rockville, Maryland.

Thank You for Teaching Me English In 2013, Wowsugi began her photography project, Thank You for Teaching Me English. The project includes 30 portraits, each depicting a person from Wowsugi's life who helped her acclimate to life in the United States, as they speak a word they taught her. The exhibit was first shown in late 2013 at the American University Museum.

In 2016, the exhibition was a finalist in the National Portrait Gallery's The Outwin contest.

"Permacounterculture" In 2016, Wowsugi first presented the installation piece Permacounterculture at Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, D.C. The piece comprised a white cube-shaped structure, which functioned as both a greenhouse and a music venue. Over the course of the gallery run, wheatgrass was grown in the cube, as recordings of punk music played or as local hardcore musicians performed live at the gallery. Staffers then processed the wheatgrass into shots for gallery attendees and the performers.

Fungus Among Us In 2019, Wowsugi worked with Enough Pie, a non-profit in Charleston, South Carolina, to organize the "Fungus Among Us" exhibition at Redux Contemporary Art Center. The exhibition included pieces made by local artists and community members, including students, and interactive elements, such as a map of polaroid photos which visitors could contribute to.

Personal life After moving to the U.S., Wowsugi has sometimes gone by the name Amber Wolf, after hearing her Japanese name be "butchered". She moved to Washington, D.C., in 2013.