Artist Statement
I create works on paper and sculptural installations about the interconnectedness and resilience of nature in a post-human landscape where organisms self-destruct, adapt, and reign supreme. I capture moments when plants and animals entangle and reform within and with each other. A fertile fungus causes a Herculean beetle to sprout a peony from its horns, and ladybugs assist wheat grass migrate to better lands. In these ways, I create science fiction about the survival strategies of iving beings.
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.