Teruri Yamawaki

Teruri Yamawaki was born in 1989. She decided to dedicate her life to art and clay relatively late, following various life experiences, which greatly enhanced her creativity. Teruri spent several years outside of Japan in countries such as Indonesia and Portugal, where religion and family play a crucial role in society. She realised that these two foundations are sources of inner peace for the local people. She then felt she needed a divine existence to believe in or pray to, coming from a family with no sense of unity and no shared values. Besides, she also observed that people in Japan are still believing in spirit, even if they are not fully aware of it.

Additionally, Teruri believes in the power of non-verbal communication since she often struggled interacting with others during her time overseas. The message is stronger when conveyed by eye contact or facial expression; it simply carries a more powerful significance. Besides, words can often lead to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. While even people who do not understand the language, like small children or foreigners, will be able to get their own impression just by looking at the face of Teruri’s work and eventually feel the spirit from it.

In Teruri’s work, eyes have a special meaning, same as for the title or the caption of the piece. The rich human nature, with its variety of personalities and emotions, is reflected in her work. Depending on the shapes and facial expressions, the feelings they convey will be perceived differently by each viewer.

Selected works