Ayame Uchima　内間あやめ

It is difficult to define Ayame Uchima’s practice in a mere few words. While she is an embroidery artist who employs beads and threads to create delicately intricate works, she also engages graphic design in the production of printed materials, and constructs entire spaces through incorporating a variety of media.  Although her methods of expression are diverse, all her works are consistent in their presence of a “narrative.” In a recent exhibition, she invented a story about a girl named Caroline who becomes famous after discovering a new kind of star, yet then mysteriously disappears—producing a book that tells her tale, while also developing a museum that recreated the girl’s room. Upon entering the room, viewers are invited to an imaginary world through the embroidery works and props displayed throughout. Uchima mentions that artworks are a medium that serve to connect our real world with places and worlds that may exist elsewhere. Her production process begins with thinking about the story or world she wishes to express before the technique itself, as well as the kind of direction or artwork that is needed to achieve that. Just as each of the “decorations” comprising a church, such as the mosaics, stained glass, and priest's costume are mediums that transport us to a sacred world, Uchima expresses the desire for her works, regardless of whether it may be something small, to carry those who view them into some other world.

Uchima employs diverse methods of expression, yet it is embroidery that is key and underlining element in discussing her practice. It all started back in high school when her mother made her dance costumes incorporating embroidery. Uchima, who loved crafts and sewing from an early age, was also inspired to take up embroidery. While majoring in design at university, Uchima went to France to study embroidery. Despite having difficulty with the language, she spent a year attending École Lesage, a prestigious school of Lunéville embroidery. Lunéville embroidery is a traditional technique in which various materials such as sequins and beads are stitched one by one using a crochet needle onto fabric stretched over an embroidery hoop. Advanced techniques had developed in correspondence to the rise of haute couture. Uchima found joy in working with embroidery, and was inspired to create whenever she encountered new materials. Embroidery was also the perfect medium for her concept of connecting the world of stories and reality. When Uchima first became interested in embroidery, she was influenced by work of fashion designer Olympia Le-Tan. She found fun in looking at Le-Tan’s works, which contrary to traditional embroidery characterized by elaborateness and opulence, were pop, unconventional, and incorporated elements of illustration. Uchima felt that Le-Tan’s slightly relaxed, generous, and humanistic style bore similarities to her own mode of expression.

Uchima often gains inspiration for her work during her travels. The interior decor of European architecture is something she especially finds refreshing, with the likes of painted walls, mosaics, and carvings on pillars that are rarely seen in Japan. During her time in France, she visited several places whose interiors were decorated by modern artists, such as Henri Matisse's La Chapelle du Rosaire, Chagall's ceiling paintings, and the chapel at the Musée départemental Maurice Denis, the experiences of which inform her current works that demonstrate an awareness for space. Recently, she was once again influenced by the colors of the sky and ocean she saw in her hometown of Okinawa, which are unlike anywhere else. In the fall of 2023, Uchima plans to return to France to continue her artistic practice while pursuing a career in embroidery. A young girl who loved picture books and decorating for her family's birthdays and Christmases, grew up to tell stories rich with imagination in a land far from home, through tiny beads and threads. Her own story is like a fantasy. As the journey of her life continues to influence her creations in various ways, she is sure to introduce us to new and unseen worlds.