A Conversation with Mayumi Yamase

When she was a student at Chelsea College of Arts in London, cramming into basement shows and pubs in the less salubrious side of town and putting on DIY exhibitions, Mayumi Yamase found it hard to imagine a world where painting and making art would pay the bills.

“I’d come from Japan to London, which felt like a different universe in a way,” says Yamase, as we walk around Yoyogi Park, a peaceful blotch of green set amidst the Shinuya concrete. A supportive high school art teacher had studied at Chelsea, and suggested that a young Yamase could do the same. “I feel very thankful to have had that experience, and to then bring that perspective back to Japan and my home,” she says, as we watch a group of dogs bolt around and wrestle on the dry grass.

When she was a student at Chelsea College of Arts in London, cramming into basement shows and pubs in the less salubrious side of town and putting on DIY exhibitions, Mayumi Yamase found it hard to imagine a world where painting and making art would pay the bills.

“I’d come from Japan to London, which felt like a different universe in a way,” says Yamase, as we walk around Yoyogi Park, a peaceful blotch of green set amidst the Shinuya concrete. A supportive high school art teacher had studied at Chelsea, and suggested that a young Yamase could do the same. “I feel very thankful to have had that experience, and to then bring that perspective back to Japan and my home,” she says, as we watch a group of dogs bolt around and wrestle on the dry grass.