Artist Statement
I create works on paper and sculptural installations about the interconnectedness of nature to respond to the current climate crisis. I imagine being an animal or plant, and wonder how I would adapt to survive. This inquiry inspires me to study biological processes such as DNA variations and species migration to construct whimsical, symbiotic beings that show nature’s resilience.
I draw plants with colorful Japanese minerals and iridescent plastic collage on paper dyed with indigo pigment. The drawings have collage elements that reflect light and change color depending on where the viewer stands. I make large drawings–some pieces measuring over 100” x 50”–and draw human-sized insects and flowers to subvert our superiority over them.
I also make immersive sculptural installations that reflect on the entangling of nature with the human-engineered. I manufacture the whimsical natural forms from my drawings in plastic using 3D technology. I then hang them spatially in repeated and morphing patterns to show a passage of time. I assemble this with organic materials such as soil or tree roots as a reflection of what is happening to our planet.
Bio
Yuko Oda (b.1975, Tokyo, Japan) is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of science, technology, and empathy. Oda obtained a MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and BA from Duke University. She exhibited at SIGGRAPH Asia (Macao), Dumbo Arts Festival (NY), Calvin-Morris Gallery (NY), Beijing Today Art Museum, Maki Fine Arts (Tokyo), Annemarie Sculpture Garden and Art Center (MD), the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, among others. Oda was a recipient of the Goetemann Artist Residency fellowship in 2015. Oda’s animation, “Take Off” was a finalist in the international animation competition “Artport: Cool Stories for When the Planet Gets Hot”, and screened internationally, including the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, DIA Center (NY), Art Supermarket (Stockholm), Art Miami Basel (FL), Bridge Art Fair (NY), Diva Art Fair (Paris) and Scope Art Fair (Basel/NY). Oda was an artist resident at the Vermont Studio Center, Chashama North Residency, Goetemann Residency, and Byrdcliffe Artist Residency.
After living and working in New York for 15 years, Oda moved to Boston in 2017. She currently teaches in the Art and Design Department at University of Massachusetts Lowell.