Yuli Yamagata

Critical text

Having grown up in Sao Paulo, Yuli Yamagata (b. 1989, Sao Paulo) takes as a starting point the lexicon of comics while exploring popular commercial centers in the city. Sewings and fabrics play a central role in Yamagata’s practice. The artist references come from different places that are equally diverse and ordinary, holding a particular interest in the intersection of images and focusing on the material itself: from the classic design to active-wear, running shoes, and multi-colored lycra to body parts such as disjointed mouths, legs, and feet. Every element in the artist’s production disguises themselves as other objects, playing with materials to pretend to be other materials. Within this game of representations, Yamagata plays with the duality of real or not, where her creatures trigger discomfort and desire in different measures. Her research focuses on the fabric itself, exploring the symbolic meaning that it carries with its textures, colors, and prints, giving new purposes and reinserting these materials in a new cycle—from the street shops to the art market. The artist questions the role of the textile industry, and through fabrics, she offers democratization of taste. Hence most of these textiles can be found in the wardrobes of ordinary people and are available on the streets of downtown Sao Paulo. The use of everyday fabric in Yamagata’s work embraces a political context questioning of how we dress and consume fashion.

Text by Fernanda Brenner