20 ARTIST PROFILE Mika Yajima
Fetal movement, 2007, rope work - manila hemp, jute, cotton & polyester rope cord, clay, silver foil., 800 cm
Mika Yajima
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he paradoxical contrast of light and heavy and soft and hard are trademarks of Mika Yajima’s visual aesthetic. Her fibre artworks use an equally contradictory combination of thin threads and metal bound together through original techniques which see her weaving, knotting, and collaging the mix of materials, informed by her experience of working in the production of artworks for kimono and architectural objects. Yajima’s sculptural pieces often take the form of large-scale installations that creep up the exteriors of towering buildings or inhabit entire rooms of the gallery. In 2006 she created a vast cloth installation which spread across the sweeping green hillside of a ski slope in summer; the enigmatic formations reminiscent of membranes as they interacted with the natural world.
Meanwhile the artist’s smaller, more intimate pieces hold just as big an impact, both visually and with the meaning they hold on a spiritual level. Recently Yajima’s practice has seen her focusing on ideas which transform dyed and woven folk craft materials into pieces of contemporary art; imagining ways in which the traditional Japanese fabrics may be interpreted across the world, through another’s eyes. Yajima is based in Japan, although exhibits her work internationally as she continues to explore the reactions of viewers overseas. This year alone her work has been shown at prestigious art events in London, Dubai and Brussels. contact@mikayajima.com mikayajima.com