Creating at the Top of the World: The Experience of Yoshimi Futamura
“What does it feel like to create at altitude?” To this question, artist Yoshimi Futamura responds with a body of work steeped in gratitude and silence.
Awakening Before the Peaks
Each day at Spacehouse began with a visual ritual: gazing at the Himalayan peaks from the window. On mornings when the Trishul appeared clearly, Yoshimi would step into the garden and look up in awe, captured by the majesty of the landscape.
For her, this residency was a moment of profound connection:
Gratitude for the Indian earth. Communion with the material. A celebration of the simple gift of being alive.
An Artistic Response to a World in Turmoil
While the stillness of the mountains enveloped her, news of global conflicts reached the heights, making her creative intention more urgent than ever. In response to the violence of the world, the artist infused her sculptures with a sacred purpose.
Her Kashira forms, born from Himalayan clay and local minerals, became vessels for positive thought—a sincere and renewed prayer for universal peace.
The Silent Dialogue: Between Earth and Fire
For nearly forty years, Yoshimi Futamura has shaped clay and listened to fire. At Spacehouse, this journey took on a literal connection to the land, as she harvested local minerals to incorporate into her work.
“In silence, I have asked questions through my hands, and at times, the earth has answered—not in words, but in breath.”
The Essence of Breath: “A” and “Un”
At the heart of this series lies a powerful sculptural diptych. Inspired by the paired guardian lions (Komainu) found at Shinto shrines in Japan, this work embodies the cycle of existence:
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“A” (The open form): The first sound, the invitation to speak, the beginning.
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“Un” (The closed form): The final sound, the silent completion.
These two forms, breathing as one, stand as a record of quiet, sacred moments spent in the presence of the mountains—reminding us that while clay may not speak, it sometimes responds.
