Each of my journeys begins with the ground beneath my feet―cities and forests, coastlines and borders. I often press paper or clay against the earth, capturing its textures with charcoal or pigment, later weaving them into larger paintings. This small piece was created while walking through Japan’s Noto Peninsula after the 2023 earthquake. I pressed clods of clay into the soil to record the steps with an imprint the earth. It carries the quiet memory of a place and moment―an intimate fragment of a world that is always shifting, now small enough to hold in your hands.
Masako Yasuki earned her M.A. in Fine Arts from Kyoto Seika University (1994) and was a guest researcher at Smith College, USA (2015) with support from the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs. She is currently Professor of Fine Art at Kyoto Seika University. Yasuki has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Hamish Fulton | Masako Yasuki | WALKING JOURNEYS (White Conduit Projects, London, 2025) and 80 Years After the War, Atomic Bomb × Art: Connecting the Next Generation (Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki, Japan, 2025). Her works have been shown internationally, including in London, Moscow, Seoul, and Edinburgh, and are held in collections such as the Smith College Museum of Art and Oita Prefectural Art Museum.
