Yoko Akino: Through the unknown, remembered gate

Glasgow Print Studio is delighted to present Through the unknown, remembered gate, an exhibition of new editions by Yoko Akino.

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Akino moved to Ireland in 1996 and joined Graphic Studio Dublin where she has worked ever since. First introduced to Scottish audiences as part of Between Islands, a 2024 collaboration with Graphic Studio Dublin, Akino makes lyrical and technically exacting prints that draw the viewer in through the interplay of flat areas of colour, precise mark-making and contemplative, dreamlike imagery.

"These prints are inspired by my experience that the ordinary world is full of magic, if I take the time to notice it. Magic isn't something "special", it is a natural part of our ordinary world. In Ireland I am surrounded by the ocean, the mountains and countryside, and I find something magical in them. It isn't hidden or far away. It is in the light on the water, a cloud on a mountain, a field under the moon, a bird overhead. It is there too in my connection with my cat, if he sleeps on the couch or watches me from a chair as I work. Natural magic is always around me, to experience it I just need to stop and look."

Yoko Akino.