Yuriko Yamamoto (b. September 14, 1979, Hyogo, Japan) is a Japanese installation artist. She graduated from Kyoto Seika University’s Faculty of Arts in 2002 and, in the same year, became the youngest recipient of the PHILIP MORRIS K.K. ART AWARD.

 

Her work revolves around experiential installations that transform conventional spaces into dynamic environments, offering viewers a uniquely immersive experience. Yamamoto’s practice extends beyond Japan to international platforms, including her participation in First Steps: Emerging Artists from Japan at MoMA PS1 in 2003.

 

At the core of Yamamoto’s work is the creation of spaces where invisible sensations, indescribable experiences, and the ungraspable occurrences that arise between consciousness and reality can be shared.

 

Our reality is not fixed but constantly shifts and transforms according to our perception. Just as quantum particles do not have a defined position until observed, the world around us may only take form through our engagement with it. Yamamoto explores this resonance between consciousness and reality through installations incorporating light, sound, space, and narrative. Her works are never complete in themselves—they come into existence only when the viewer steps into the space, moves through it, listens, and engages with their own memories and emotions. Each visitor perceives a different facet of the work, shaping a distinct version of reality in that moment.

 

Although memory and emotion have no physical form, they undeniably exist within time and space, altering our perception of reality. When entering Yamamoto’s installations, viewers engage in a dialogue with their own recollections and feelings, weaving personal narratives in response. It is an encounter with the unspoken—moments of stillness that reveal something hidden beneath the surface of the everyday.

 

If our very existence in this world is but one manifestation chosen from infinite quantum possibilities, then Yamamoto’s works function as devices that render the contours of one’s chosen reality visible.

Through her art, Yamamoto seeks to create experiences that allow us to traverse the boundary between the real and the imagined. Whether encountering profound emotions, moments of conceptual rupture, or the fragile remnants of fading memories, her installations serve as vessels for these elusive sensations. By capturing and shaping such fleeting moments, she invites each viewer to discover their own unfolding reality within her work. 

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