Born in Tokyo in 1955, Yumi grew up in Tama district, Kunitachi, where there are two art colleges and where many artists live. During the 1960-70’s Japanese art went through a progressive period alongside movements such as the Salon des Artistes Indépendants, Neo-Dada Group, Japanese Surrealism, and Socio Politico-conceptual artists such as Yoko Ono who was against conventional institutional art.
She decided to leave Japan for London where punk was flourishing at the time, and she started her studies at Chelsea Art School. She found herself immersed in a world of outstanding professors and classmates through her student years at Goldsmith’s College (1979-82), Central School of Art (1982-83), and Royal College of Art (1984-86).
These deep experiences subconsciously helped her to form a hybrid of European and Japanese references.
