hi! my name is nami yamaguchi, and here is my online archive of work! to view works by year, see the portfolio tab.
i am a boston based fibers & multidisciplinary craftsperson and educator. nami yami tochi loosely translates to “a land of shadow and ocean waves” in Japanese.
i have developed an artistic practice that consists of building out this land, this world, through foam carving, fabric painting and woven installation. the creation and accumulation of found objects feeds this artistic practice.
Painting on fabric and basting it onto carved foam sculptures is a way for my memories and experiences to bleed together. This fabric collage creates an artwork that reflects the absurd way the human brain perceives and warps memories and past events.
the encounter, 2023. fabric painting. 15x40''.
these hand painted fabric swatches were part of a slip dress i painted for myself. i carved akachan out of foam, and hand stitched small pieces of the skirt to create his skin.
hongo akachan, 2023
soft sculpture
12x5x5’’
Hirayama House, 2023.
soft sculpture and painting.
15x5’’
woven shoji
all of these weavings were created on a four harness floor loom, with a spaced warp.
Photosynthesize (weave) 7’x14.5’’
spaced warp, bamboo warp yarn, ribbon from my aunties, pale ribbon from a childhood vest, blue silk and gauze from my Cinderella costume my mother made me, fabric from Nippori, cording, stripped vintage dress i wore to tatters.
Trinkets in the Wind , 10’ x18''
multicolor cotton warp yarn, spaced warp painted tulle from a wedding dress petticoat, fabric paint, necklaces, snail shells, stripped up polysilk slip skirts, ribbon, embroidery floss, tulle.
Rainbow Clouds
14’1’’x 3’
cotton warp thread, spaced warp, monofilament, industrial tubing, wedding dress petticoat, glitter tulle, synthetic webbing from Halloween decorations, beading wire.
Purple Plastic Purse (weave)
8’5’’x2’
bamboo warp, spaced warp, ribbon, painted wedding dress petticoat, embroidery floss, chiffon ribbon, metal.
The multicolor transparent fabric was originally a layer to a wedding under skirt left behind at my work that I painted , wore for a summer, and stripped into weft yarns in fall of 2023.
Windowpane Weave
15’ 30’’x14’’
bamboo warp thread, spaced warp, stripped skirts, painted wedding petticoat, sheer organza, ribbons, mesh, tubing.
loop! with model
loop! approximately 5'x2.5', 30' unraveled. vintage bed sheets, polyfil, daisy chained into a precarious lounging sofa.
loop! details
gohan tabete?
20x57x2’’
March 2021-August 2022.
hand embroidered tapestry
while creating this piece, i encountered the loss of a loved one. during COVID-19 my obachan had fallen ill, and only my father could re-enter Japan and say goodbye to her.
this piece changed direction completely upon her passing. my obachan, Kayoko-san, and I have mostly communicated through broken English and Japanese, with her expressing care and love like all Asian elders do, by feeding me. We loved to go out to eat and thrift in her neighborhood, and i wanted to create a third space for us within this art piece, so we could be together enjoying ocha and anpan in perpetuity. (tea and red bean buns)
acrylic and natural yarns were used, as well as embroidery floss. the flowers and greenery surrounding the embroidered image of myself and Kayokosan were dyed with logwood, mushrooms, and cochineal.
gohan tabete? is the first artwork i have sold in an official capacity, selling for 3600$ USD in the MassArt 2022 Auction.
early material studies
i explored wet and needle felting techniques during my sophomore year at MassArt. i sought out to see how much beach detritus and waste could be held and trapped by wet, needle and nuno felting techniques, using excess wool roving i had. i was intrigued by the connection between the sand and the wool as natural materials that can trap and release human excess. i was also curious about the way trash builds up and becomes an intimidating block of matter, similarly to how threads add up to strong and sturdy fabric.
my mother and i had spent our entire beach day being distracted by the hot pink and shiny ocean plastic that washed up on Rockport City Beach. some trash was clearly from beachgoers, but a large amount of the trash we picked was from broken lobster traps, fishing rope, and other trash that escaped fishing vessels.
