Ayaka Yamamoto “We are Made of Grass, Soil, and Trees”
I visited a solo exhibition by photographer Ayaka Yamamoto. The venue is Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film in Roppongi. The exhibition is titled “We are Made of Grass, Soil, and Trees.” Human beings are made of soil, trees, and grass — perhaps that is what it means.
The works on view are all photographs of foreign women. Ayaka Yamamoto reportedly conducts her photographic practice overseas.
Her handling of blue is exquisitely skillful — the blue seeps in, ranging from deep blue tones into areas of dark green, producing a richly resonant palette. In every work, not a single woman’s expression is fully readable — each is obscured in some way.
Precisely because expressions can’t be discerned, the “universal human form” residing within emerges and can be sensed — or so the artist explains.
When I visited the Daikanyama Photo Fair, I learned that Ayaka Yamamoto’s photography show was on its final day, and hurried over in the rain. It was a truly wonderful exhibition — I’m glad I made it in time. It left me wanting to acquire a print.
