Yumikio SAMESHIMA

After graduating from the Department of Sculpture at Tokyo Zokei University in 2010, I spent 4-5 years in teaching and traveling abroad, and began my career as an artist after returning to Japan.
Since then, I have been creating and presenting sculptures and installation works.
Through long-term overseas trave, I became aware of Japanese culture and regional characteristics that cannot be separated from my own identity.
Some of my works are related to Japanese culture and regional characteristics, such as seismic waveforms, an idea in Shintoism and a traditional painting technique that was often used in old Japanese paintings called “Yamato-e”.
I also create installation art which is deeply related and not able to be separated from the exhibition space both physically and conceptually by using the features the elements of the site.

In addition, I have been working on exploring personal and international connections among artists. For example, organizing an international creative meet-up “Creatives’ ___.”, and being a core member of “JaM -Artist in Homestay-“, an art exchange project between Japan and Mexico.

Recently, besides creating my own artworks, I am also involved in activities to solve local issues by utilizing my experience, skills and ideas as an artist. For instance, to suggest ideas for a new product for a local stone association in a stone farming area, to propose and design solutions for the usage of vacant houses in a rural area, and to launch a program for regional development in a disaster-stricken area where the population has been seriously declining since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.