Tokyo-Born Artist Yoko Ozawa Brings a Sense of Beauty in Blank Spaces to MPavilion

Artist Yoko Ozawa’s fascination with blank space led her to ceramics. In partnership with MPavilion, we look at the artist’s inspiration and past works, with an eye on her upcoming residency.

Yohaku is a Japanese term meaning “blank space”. The idea is integral to many of the country’s traditional art forms and has been influential in Japanese art since as early as the Muromachi period (1336–1573). During the Edo period (1603–1868), when calligraphy flourished, there was a focus on the balance between brushstrokes and the surrounding space. Haiku, a traditional Japanese poetic form, is also considered an expression of yohaku.

Tokyo-born, Melbourne-based ceramicist Yoko Ozawa first became influenced by the notion while studying Japanese painting at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. “Ceramics had many similarities with Japanese painting,” she says, “like the use of natural pigments, white made from shells, green and blue from ores.”

Since setting up her Melbourne studio in 2012, she has become known for her functional ceramic tea wares. In 2024, however, she will display more of her work at an upcoming installation that MPavilion calls Victorian Landscape – Searching for Yohaku.

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Commissioned especially for MPavilion’s 10th birthday, the installation will seek to adapt the Zen garden to the Australian context. Visitors can expect a different experience with each visit to the outdoor venue – sunlight, shadows, breeze, rain and other elements will all become part of the work.

The installation was inspired by Ozawa’s experience at Garambi Baan (Laughing Waters) Cultural Precinct in Eltham, the artist-in-residence program she took part in earlier this year. It’s there she learnt to create works that blend into the environment – in this case, the Victorian landscape.

Ozawa will spend around two hours each morning rearranging the MPavilion’s stone floors to develop her landscape across five to six days for her residency. Ozawa describes the process as a “ceremonial routine” where she’ll sweep and clean the area “to illuminate the fine line where ‘space’ is”. It will also be her first time adding audio to her work, using sounds she recorded during her residency at Garambi Baan.

Ozawa isn’t sure how the final work will turn out, and that’s intentional. It’s up to the elements, as she relinquishes control to natural phenomena and spectators’ interactions to dictate how it turns out, “just like I have no full control of how the ceramics will come out of the kiln”, she says. “I think I enjoy the struggles between things I can control and the moments beyond my control.”

Ultimately, Ozawa wants to create a place for MPavilion visitors to take a few minutes out of their day. “I hope for this installation to be a place where people can experience the Victorian landscape, a place where people can gather and relax,” she says.

Yoko Ozawa will be in residence at MPavilion between 9am and 11am from March 5 to 8, 2024. See more information and plan your visit.

Broadsheet is a proud media partner of MPavilion.