NATSUKO YOSHINO, "Initiative," January 26 – February 16, 2007, Semai Gallery, Winnipeg

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NATSUKO YOSHINO, Initiative

Semai Gallery, Winnipeg

January 26 – February 16, 2007

By Lorne Roberts

“My drawings are automatic expressions of my unconscious,” says Natsuko Yoshino. “There (are) infinite possibilities in a person’s unconscious.” Done with muted watercolour, ink and pencil, Yoshino’s works are a fun and trippy journey through imaginary landscapes, where human and organic shapes float in empty space, all blending into a swirling, seamless whole. Her drawings could be described as falling into a nebulous space between Shel Silverstein, Alice in Wonderland, and Marcel Dzama. Yoshino grew up in Osaka, Japan, and has returned there since graduating from the University of Regina in 2006. She’ll have her first solo show at Winnipeg’s Semai Gallery this winter. If her work strikes a chord with viewers, though, Yoshino says that it’s because it comes from a natural place. “I draw when I want to get away from reality,” she says. “I have never thought that I was talented—I just like to draw.” A consistent visual theme in her art is the undefined line between where one thing ends and another begins, a natural extension of her automatic drawing technique.

Represented by: Semai Gallery, Winnipeg.