Mixed media by Izumi Ueda Yuu

Izumi Ueda Yuu’s practice is grounded in animism—the belief that everyday objects have spirit and deserve respect. Working solely on paper, she creates images and objects inspired by familiar forms. Her process blends painting, printing, collage, shibori dyeing, found objects and cast paper sculpture. Skirt began with a found image of a bandaged torso and layered posters collected from the streets of Lisbon, fragments rich with time’s imprint. Through frottage and collage, she transforms these materials into something archaeological and alive, revealing a standing figure in boots surrounded by shapes from this world and another. Her work becomes a space of reflection, where spirit, memory, and time converge unfolding through forms that feel both familiar and mysteriously distant. Exhibitions include Chapter 7: Ocean is There, Sociedade Nacional de Belas Artes (SNBA), Lisbon, (2024); Cerveira International Art Biennial, Cerveira, (2022); The Luxembourg Art Prize - The Finalists Exhibition, Pinacothèque museum, Luxembourg, (2019) and No Borders, Museu do Oriente, Lisbon, (2016).