Tokyo-based artist Emi Wanibuchi creates layered works using washi, mineral pigments, metal leaf and acrylics, applying traditional Japanese techniques in contemporary ways. Drawing influence from Noh theatre and East–West aesthetic dialogues, her practice merges the Japanese concept of yūgen - a mysterious, profound beauty - with Surrealist sensibilities. Wanibuchi embraces materials that resist blending, using their tension to reflect on themes of spirituality, gender, dignity and inequality. Her compositions reveal subtle emotional undercurrents and invite viewers into a contemplative space, where perception shifts and the boundaries between seen and unseen become delicately destabilised.