Artist
Inoue Yui
Umwelt. 2021. Used fishnets from Lake Biwa, ceramic and glass collected on the shore of Lake Biwa, plastic fragments from the oceanfront, plastic bags, buttons, bamboo, silvergrass, thread, brass wire, etc. Installation view from Soft Territory, Shiga Museum of Art, 2021. H. 400, W. 1,200, D. 1,000 cm.
Having Roots. 2019. Coated wire. Installation view from Symbiosis, Shiga Museum of Art (Taisanji Temple area, Takashima, Shiga Prefecture), 2019. Six pieces, each measuring H. 400, W. 200, D. 100 cm.
Here and There. 2018. Weeping willow branches. Installation view from PCCA International Residency Project 1: Breathe, Points Center for Contemporary Art, China, 2018.
Photo: Hyogo Mugyuda.
Inoue is interested in the unique characteristics of different regions and the people who live there. She uses local materials and basic techniques such as weaving, tying, and sewing to create installations that evoke the invisible connections and landscapes that surround us. Her work for this exhibition focuses on Mt. Hakusan—which has long been the center of mountain worship in the Hokuriku region and elsewhere in Japan—and worship surrounding Mikumari no Kami (“water-dividing kami”), the god of water who became one with a mountain. She uses local thread and fibers to create a large-scale piece that traces the flow of water from the top of the drainage divide, down the slopes of the mountain, and into the earth and bodies of water like the ocean.
Profile
Inoue Yui
Born in 1983 in Aichi Prefecture. She is currently based in Shiga Prefecture. Inoue completed a master’s degree in textile design at the Kanazawa College of Art in 2007. She has participated in numerous artist-in-residence programs, art festivals, and exhibitions. At each location, she explores local materials and techniques, searching for new perspectives on natural processes and knowledge rooted in everyday life. Through her works, she attempts to produce objects that evoke the inner workings of our world and the invisible connections that tie it together.