RESEARCH ON GOLD FOIL
Yuko’s practice centres on the poetic potential of gold foil—a material that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Through her work, she explores how this fragile metal leaf can give new life to overlooked materials, revealing hidden beauty within time and decay.
In her project inspired by the idiom “flowing water generates gold,” Yuko shaped rings from hot melt adhesive and layered them with gold foil to capture the idea that time and effort accumulate into value. The fluid forms, modelled after the world’s rivers, shimmer like flowing gold held in one’s hands.
Her later series, Bloom of Gold, continues this exploration by combining gold foil with faded flowers and decayed branches. Guided by the saying “metal tree blossoms,” she turns fragile organic matter into luminous forms, highlighting the tension between fragility and brilliance.
Through these works, Yuko invites viewers to reflect on transformation, impermanence, and renewal—how even the most delicate or forgotten things can shine again under the touch of gold.