Yuma Ishii

I create artworks through dyeing expression using the hand-painted Yuzen technique. Employing itome-nori-bosen, a traditional Yuzen paste-resist dyeing method, I intuitively apply patterns guided by the sensation of my fingertips. In adding color, I regard each instance of dye seeping into the fabric as the very essence of dyeing as expression — and discover within it both the organic beauty unique to dyeing and my own 'wavering.' I focus on the two aspects of dyeing expression: 'what can be controlled = resist-dyeing' and 'what cannot be fully controlled = bleeding.' I attempt to overlay my own sensibilities onto the material and expressive characteristics of dyeing. I chose dyeing as a means of expressing the sensation of my hands more directly — as line. The right sequence for me is not 'I dye because I want this undulation,' but rather 'this undulation emerged from doing it this way.' I come to understand what I love only after the dyeing is done — I learn and think through the work itself. The fact that I keep dwelling on what dissatisfies me after finishing a piece tells me that there is some kind of energy hiding in those feelings — and that is exactly what I want to keep digging into.