“ Story of visions “Yao Mikami Art exhibition

Yao created a body of work during the lockdowns of the last 2 years, when she let herself dive into the story world through her imagination and a visionary state. Yao observes nature and listens to the story. She started using natural pigments as part of her paintings, which gives texture and a direct blueprint of the earth onto the canvas. 

Yao grew up in Japan in a Shintoism culture that is based on animism, where all living things have a spirit. You can see this belief in her painting, where all the mystical creatures in the landscape are in the paintings. In this exhibition, Yao is a visual storyteller interpreting what she has heard from nature through her painting process. 

 “Nature gives us humans the foundation of life. Even the painting materials are all given by nature. Rocks, trees, and stones are telling me how we humans coexist with nature”