Ayaka Terajima
Ayaka Terajima (*1987, Japan) is an artist who bridges ancient traditions with modern consumerism through her
unglazed ceramic sculptures. Drawing inspiration from Jōmon pottery, the oldest ceramic vessels in Japan, Terajima
reimagines their historical significance using contemporarelements. Her work particularly highlights the Jōmon use of rope and string-like motifs, often depicting snakes, which held symbolic ties to death, regeneration, and rebirth.
In ancient Japan, where death was seen as central to existence, snakes and the moon were universal symbols of
renewal, and Jōmon potterywas believed to store water, which was considered life-giving and connected to the moon.
Terajima’s practice also draws upon modern packaging design. She incorporates relief patterns and negative space derived from unbranded plastic containers found in everydaproducts, juxtaposing the craftsmanship of ceramics with the disposable culture of contemporary supermarkets. By using recycled clay and developing her own technique to mold these found objects into her sculptures, Terajima explore themes of materiality, design transformation, and the lifecycle of objects. Her work reflects on spiritual and material rebirth while reframing it through the lens of logistics, consumption, and recycling in the modern world.
unglazed ceramic sculptures. Drawing inspiration from Jōmon pottery, the oldest ceramic vessels in Japan, Terajima
reimagines their historical significance using contemporarelements. Her work particularly highlights the Jōmon use of rope and string-like motifs, often depicting snakes, which held symbolic ties to death, regeneration, and rebirth.
In ancient Japan, where death was seen as central to existence, snakes and the moon were universal symbols of
renewal, and Jōmon potterywas believed to store water, which was considered life-giving and connected to the moon.
Terajima’s practice also draws upon modern packaging design. She incorporates relief patterns and negative space derived from unbranded plastic containers found in everydaproducts, juxtaposing the craftsmanship of ceramics with the disposable culture of contemporary supermarkets. By using recycled clay and developing her own technique to mold these found objects into her sculptures, Terajima explore themes of materiality, design transformation, and the lifecycle of objects. Her work reflects on spiritual and material rebirth while reframing it through the lens of logistics, consumption, and recycling in the modern world.
