Yo AKIYAMA Kyoto, Japan

"Is it possible to peel off the clay's skin?" This thought which to Yo Akiyama says suddenly occured to him while he was peeling a tangerine, became the point of departure for his creative work. In fact that concept presents the essence of Akiyama's work.

For him clay is no longer merely a substance that lets one mould it as one likes; it is also a metaphor for the land, with its geological structure, and the earth. Akiyama expresses this clearly in entitling his works. He uses geological terms such as 'geological age' or 'peneplain'. It is the poetic nature of the artist, who moulds shapes and bends the power of his imagination to the interior of objects, that guarantees the metaphor works.