Paula Nishikawara has deep connections to both Canada and Japan, her work spanning countries, oceans, cultures and history.

Her ancestral connections to Japan are expressed in her extensive use of reinvented traditional Japanese techniques, methods of merging traditional and more contemporary discourses in art making. Although her works stand alone, immersive installations where multiple and broad elements intertwine to create alternate dimensions - are her most favourite constructs that invite attention, reconsideration, and self-inquiry. It is there that ecosystem concerns, particularly the oceans and bodies of water that provide and support have space to merge with personal stories of migration, culture, tradition and fish. 

Her facilitation of large scale hands-on community workshops deeply inform and frame her work; a shared experience of inquiry, discovery and tactile processes reaching thousands of participants - a testament,  she believes to people's desire for "real" experiences and "authentic" connections.