Mushrooms have been found in art traditions all around the world but there is a refreshing simplicity to the minimalist sculptures created by the Japanese artist Yoshiko Motoyama.
The artist recalls that she has loved making things by hand since she was a child. While experiencing various handmade things, she came across polymer clay. As many artists, she was soon completely fascinated by this versatile material and she began making jewelry and accessories.
When Yoshiko was a student she majored in plant ecology and that’s how she fell in love with mushrooms. “I was impressed by how beautiful the original mushrooms are,” the artist says about her affinity for fungi while describing where her inspiration came from. “I am careful to express the features as correctly as possible.” Yoshiko accentuates the fact that she does not depict imaginary mushrooms, but mushroom figures that look just like the real thing.
With mushrooms and plants as the main theme, Yoshiko creates fun works that make you feel like you've wandered into a picture book land. Currently living in an environment surrounded by nature, the artist enjoys rural life in Noboribetsu city - Hokkaido.
”When the season comes, I can find various kinds of mushrooms on the walking path,” Yoshiko discloses about the area she lives in. “The leaves of the trees change color and become pure white with snow in winter. I would like to express the beautiful things I see in nature with polymer clay.” She loves not only mushrooms, but also trees, flowers, weeds, and birds. “I create works while admiring the functional beauty of nature.”
Yoshiko creates many works with mushrooms as a motif. These unique items make an adorable centerpiece when put in a pot of succulents, or as a statement feature beneath a tree or within a flower bed. It looks like a real mushroom has grown there. Instead of painting on the surface, colored clay is used to express the pattern.
Whether you love them or not, the fascination which mushrooms have exerted over humans since the dawn of civilization is undeniable. The long affinity of humans regarding mushrooms has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. Regarded as simple vegetation for a long time, fungi have been found to be in fact more closely related to animals than plants and have recently been categorized into their own kingdom. Fungi will forever be a subject of scientific investigation, artistic inspiration and metaphor for people from all over the world, including Yoshiko.
