The artist tries to give viewers some impressions with a hint of discomfort.

“At first slight, it looks like a kid wearing an animal suit, but I want viewers to sense something odd in it and to look closer. I always try to create a space with conflicting images instead of ordinary portraits. I take extra care not to draw real children.”

Moving away from prints

It was natural for Yamamoto to start creating prints after she had studied oil painting and prints. But she had some struggles when she shifted to oil painting.

“I never really considered myself as a printmaker, so I don’t feel that I have “changed” into an oil painter.” It is just a change in her method, but the shift was inevitable for her as an artist one day, she found out that she hated the lines in her prints.

“I’d been depicting people with my prints, but suddenly I lost my attraction to the lines I drew, which had started to look artificial. Then I attempted a monotype called ‘Mother’, in which I was able to escape from the lines and also to material some memories of my mother. I was satisfied with it but I also felt that I’d accomplished everything I wanted to do so I lost my way and went into a slump.”

Painting and drawing is basically enjoyable

The artist stayed a year in London for study but didn’t know where to start her work again and spent most of her time looking at exhibitions.

There was a huge variety of works gathered from all over the world and she found art works she liked. However, what was imprinted on her brain was the works that made her feel some discomfort, such as Marlene Dumas and Gilbert & George.

“I was slowly attracted to their works and I realized that the painting and drawing are basically something enjoyable. Thus I was able to get rid of my worries”

She analyzed her favorite works and started to have an idea to create pictures that hold some meaning inside. It was a major breakthrough for her. She continued creating works during her pregnancy and while raising her child. By drawing many small sketches and displaying them in the living room, she was able to work on her drawings while raising her child. She needs some time to look at her works because impressions can change day by day. In this way she found a process to start creating works after carefully previewing her ideas through these small sketches.

“I would put my child to bed and enlarge the sketch to its actual size. Even though my child is older now, I am still keeping this style because I think it suits me.”

“At the beginning, I was drawing girls, but as my daughter grew up, I started to sense violence in drawing young girls. So I switched to drawing boys so it would not remind me of my child.”

That is how vulnerable-looking children have emerged in her art.

Dizziness is a good indication of the result

Her struggles were rewarded, and she became a popular artist. She spends most of the day on her art works and creates multiple works at a time.

“When a work is nearing completion, sometimes feel a slight dizziness. That is when I know that I’m about to create a work which is good enough to make me exclaim ‘Alrighty !’.

I embed elements in my works that can make people a little dizzy. If it works on me, hopefully viewers should feel the same.

The artist always finds herself totally wiped out after the completion of her works. It’s fascinating to carefully view the works that are with the result of such energy and to be trapped be its dizzying quality.