Mizuki Nishiyama (b.1998, Hong Kong) creates raw and multifaceted works that explore the fragile human condition, with a focus on the beautiful and the grotesque, the female body, the complexities of masculinity, love and lust. As a mixed-Japanese artist, Nishiyama draws inspiration from the East and West, bridging her cultural heritages. Nishiyama embraces deeply personal experiences to craft each artwork: the artist’s ongoing relationship with trauma has greatly influenced her practice and painting is a chaotic yet meditative process for her. Nishiyama is undertaking a Masters of Fine Arts at Central Saint Martins, and holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Parsons School of Design. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in private collections around the UK, Europe, Asia, and North America.

In 'Umma', Nishiyama explores her heritage and personal history through self-portraiture. The bronze sculpture is a direct cast from the artist’s’ head - described by Nishiyama as a "physical imprint of dragging my spirit and soul out from my current moment as a young woman, and immortalising it in bronze."

Through the use of bronze, Nishiyama refers to the celebratory and eternalising essence of the material, which is traditionally used in monumental installations. Additionally, by combining the liquid metal with her paternal land from the 1400's, the artist attempts to find connections and memorialise her heritage. Yet, Nishiyama also refers to the oppressive process of capturing her own likeness in a permanent form, emphasised by the claustrophobic act of entrapping her head in a mould to create the cast.

Umma is the Hokkien term for grandmother. The work deals with Nishyama’s childhood, when her grandmother would speak that dialect to her. The mouth of the sculpture is slightly crooked to mimic the memory of Nishiyama's Umma, who suffered a stroke when the artist was young, leading to a slight deformation in her jaw. By imprinting this deformation on her self- portrait, Nishiyama combines her history to her present self. Despite being an extremely maternal and loving woman, her mouth was secretly a fearful image in Nishiyama’s innocent mind. Again, ambivalence is at the forefront of Nishiyama’s practice, with the figure of her Umma coming to represent a mix of fear, curiosity and maternal love. Notions of the beautiful and grotesque, of commemoration and nostalgia, blend into one.