Akiko Yamamoto

My work explores the deconstruction and continuous renewal of identity as an adaptation to displacement and migration. I have learned and unlearned cultural norms and traditions. I have navigated different personas through different languages, which is
both liberating and disorienting. I enjoy the experience of exploring and reinventing, but I also feel a yearning for my cultural roots.
My art practice is a means of bridging that gap

My compositions exist in a state of deliberate flux—resembling puzzles either coalescing into form or dispersing into fragments. These animation-like abstract surfaces embody the tension between integration and disintegration that characterizes the migrant experience. The viewer initially engages with the deconstructed rhythm of shape, color, and texture, but closer inspection reveals
the layers beneath, inviting contemplation of what remains hidden.

My current process involves building a layered surface—strata of origami paper, torn magazine clippings and paint bound in handmade rice glue over a topographical relief of found materials, a process that mirrors the renewal of shoji screens with fresh paper. Then , through methodical sanding and cutting-away, I selectively reveal what lies beneath, creating emergent worlds
where color and form bear the mark of human intervention and imperfection.

Through these material investigations, I transform the disorientation of displacement into a generative space where a
new identity can emerge without erasing its origins.

Artist: Akiko Yamamoto
Title: Interconnected
Medium: Mixed media - Oil and acrylic painting on canvas
Size: 40” x 30”

Artist: Akiko Yamamoto
Title: Shoji 4 - Beford Avenue
Medium: Mixed media - collage and acrylics on wood
Size: 24” x 18”

Artist: Akiko Yamamoto
Title: Shoji 3 - 21st street
Medium: Mixed media - collage and acrylics on canvas
Size: 40” x 30”