Tell us a little bit about your label (art) and what you do?
I am Japanese visual artist and designer who has been based in Sydney, Australia for the past 5 years. Creating art since I was a child growing up in Gunma prefecture north-west of Tokyo, I had a keen interest in oil painting, drawing, textile design, sculpture and collage-art. It was at a local art school, where I studied oil painting, that I was inspired to pursue the visual arts by my teachers and fellow students. I furthered my art study and training at Joshibi University of Art and Design in Tokyo, graduating in 2006. Since then I has exhibited in galleries in Tokyo as well as the Tokyo Design Festival in 2009.
One of my current projects is creating super realistic, wearable food, hand-sculpted and painted from air-dried Polymer clay. I remember being fascinated as a child by the plastic food samples often found in the windows of restaurants in Japan. My work is ultra-realistic and includes a whole range of food: from mouth-watering fruits such as strawberries, kiwi fruit and blueberries; to fried eggs, bacon and pop-corn. Each item, from the smallest seed of a kiwi fruit to the textured rind of lemon skin, is painstakingly hand-sculpted and painted.
My art work is time consuming and at times tiring, but it gives me great joy and satisfaction to create something unique, unusual and technically difficult. I love to see the reaction of people when they first see my work. I have a unique sense of humour and I hope that this comes through in the art work that I create.
What inspires your work?
Japanese food samples inspires for my recent project.
However I’ve been inspired by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Mark Rothko, Anselm Kiefer etc.
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I’ve done many jobs both in Japan and Australia. One of them is Tokyo Disney Land! This is amazing and fun experience for me!
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I don’t really have very memorable responses but people usually react pretty same, they don’t seem to believe that my creations are ‘fake’.
One thing you can’t live without?
My parents.
What gets you up in the morning?
Mmm…I don’t know. I wake up around 6am everyday without alarm…
How would your best friend describe you in 3 words?
Maybe ‘moody independent mum’. My mood is up and down, didn’t need friends or boyfriend and even I have no kids my husband often says ‘Don’t be like mum!’ to me…Sounds awful, I am!
What is the next skill you want to learn?
Driver’s skill.
What is your dream project?
I have two sisters, one has hairdresser and shoe making skills, another one is musician and calligraphy specialist so would be fun to have a kind of shop with them!
Favourite or most inspirational place in Sydney?
Favourite place is Enmore, my local because lot’s of restaurants and cafés and people are all friendly:)
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Try before think.
What advice would you give to new, aspiring Makers?
Just try! Life is short.
And most importantly, what would your ultimate karaoke song be?
Oh, no! I don’t like karaoke…
Yoshimi’s Lab
Instagram: /yoshimilab
Web:http://yoshimislab.blogspot.com