K U M I Y A M A S H I T A

If your shadow was a living entity but if it was a living entity, it’d probably go on its own trail after the light of day has subsided. As the works of Kumi Yamashita, she uses smart visual effects to create an illusion of shadows in her artwork. Firstly, she uses mundane objects as wood or metal scattered randomly without order, at first glance you would somewhat question the aesthetics behind it. But everything comes together when light is cast over the objects revealing a silhouette of people. It forms an illusion of reality as you come to understand that the objects become a symbolic part of the shadow.

Below are some selected works by artist Kumi Yamashita.

Profile, 1994
wood, light, cast shadow
Description: The number and the alphabet blocks, lit from the left, cast a silhouette of a man's profile.


Exclamation Point, 1995
wood, light, cast shadow
55 x 39 x 6 in.

Building Blocks, 1997
Light, wood, Shadow
Collection of Boise Art Museum, Boise, Idaho.
Description: The building blocks of various widths on the wall, lit from the right, casts a silhouette of a woman.


City View ,2003
Light, Aluminum, Shadow
Permanent display at the 2nd floor of Nanba Parks Tower, Osaka, Japan.
Commissioned by Nankai Railways Inc.
Description: The numbers scattered on the wall, lit from the right, cast a silhouette of a woman.


A little animated story based on the shadow sculpture "City View" by Kumi Yamashita. By Peter Eszeny.