Artist Statement:

In my work I explore the fugitive colours of the natural world and
question the complex interplay of light, atmosphere and the human
perceptual system. Finding the inner light in all things mundane
inspires me, and it is these moments of reverie that are embodied in
the work. My colours inhabit a sculptural space which enters and
interacts with the real space of the viewer’s environment.

Each work is a journey of discovery through play and observation, where
the destination remains open. I deal with the microcosm in order to
gain access to the universal that exists both within and around it, and
explore the paradox between the functional and the meditative,
archetypal forms of making.

I have a particular affection for the concept of the box. Boxes are
attractive objects to me, concentrated in the symbolism of treasure. It
brings a nostalgic feeling and reminds me of a fairy-tale world.

Above Below :

The view from an aircraft window inspired me to create this piece, by
rising above the cloud layer and looking to our habitat from above.
This bird’s eye view creates an objectivity about the world we live in.

Archipelago :

I created this illusion of a chequerboard which continues indefinitely
with mirror effects. The title suggests a string of islands in the
ocean, as here I was interested to create a space that would continue
almost endlessly. In this piece, as the reflection goes further, the
colour becomes darker and more blue-green because of the mirror/glass
combination, and it gradually recedes visually in the same way that
water’s density hides distances from our eye.

Perfume bottle :

These are two containers for my imaginary perfumes. I created the
hollow within the objects with the trick of a mirror effect. Perfume
which does not take a form – needs a container to exist, therefore the
bottle design has to speak on its behalf. With a real perfume bottle,
people imagine the fragrance until the point of inhaling, but with my
perfume bottle, I am asking viewers to use their imagination in order
to create a fragrance that suits the bottle.

 

Connection :

Artist Yukako Shibata draws her inspiration from the fugitive colors of
the natural world. “Elements like water, atmosphere, snow and bubbles
exist for us through the complex interplay of light, local environment
and the human perceptual system. In this cylindrical space, just enough
for one person to stand inside, I wanted to create the experience of
the ephemeral.” Using hundreds of light-weight, hand-sculpted spheres,
dipped in plaster and painted in soft colors, she created a shifting
curtain that surrounds and encloses the person inside. “The idea
originated from snow falling when you look up to the sky — the flakes
fall everywhere equally, but for each person they appear to fall only
towards you. What we look at is not always what exists. We each create
our own world of perception.”

The spheres are hung from a hoop using thin nylon line in a way that
allows them to interact individually and in groups as they move. She
chose spheres as a universal but abstract form, and her own subtle
techniques of coloring to make a “physical version of light and water
and the evanescence of bubbles.” It was important to allow the
imperfections of accident in creating each sphere to give them
individual, organic forms. The expansion of the foam core from which
each one grew was different every time, as was the application of
plaster and pigment. “Both the process and the purpose are linked.
Making is a form of meditation for me, and the space itself is for
meditation.”

(text by Michael Freeman, featured in his book “Meditative
Space” published by Rizzoli, N.Y.)

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Yukako Shibata (MA) RCA

Art Education

2002-05: MA in Painting, Royal College of Art
1999-01: MA in Fine Art, City & Guilds of London Art School
1998-99: Post Graduate Diploma in Fine Art, Byam Shaw School of Art
1995-98: BA in Fine Art (First Hons), City & Guilds of London Art School

Selected Exhibitions

2006: Atrium Gallery at Price Waterhouse Cooper, London (forthcoming)

2006: Lightcontemporary, London : GLOW

2005: Peculiar Encounter, St. John, London (forthcoming – November)
2005: Slow Forming, Blyth Gallery, London (forthcoming - November)

2005: SCOPE London
2005: Davis & Langdon, London (forthcoming - October)
2005: The Show, Royal College of Art, London

2004: Reflection, Bindmans & Partners, London
2004: Fearful Symmetry, GEC Gallery, London

2003: Anne Laurence Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
2003: Colour Wrapping, Hockney Gallery, London

2002: Ida Branson Memorial Bequest Exhibition, Atkinson Gallery, Somerset, UK

Awards & Competitions

2005: Calyon Investment Bank art award, Royal College of Art
2005: Davis Langdon Award, Royal College of Art
2003: Minton Travel Award for Painting, Royal College of Art;
Five-week residency at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
2002: Shortlisted for the Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2002
: Finalist for the Millfield Art Projects, Ida Branson 2002
1998: The Chadwyck-Healey Prize for Painting
1997: Philip Connard Travel Award, City & Guilds of London Art School;
Three-week trip to Scandinavia

Public Collections

Calyon Investment Bank
Dfee; Department for Education and Employment
City & Guilds Institute

Articles and Publications

Meditative Space, Rizzoli, N.Y. USA, 2005
Habitania, No 45, October, Spain, 2004