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"Decaying into Bloom" by Yuko Oda

A vibrant and intricate illustration depicts a large, colorful butterfly with delicate wings and intricate patterns, set against a soft, muted background.
Vibrant blue butterflies flutter amidst a whimsical garden filled with colorful flowers and abstract shapes.
A vibrant illustration depicts a large red beetle crawling amidst lush, verdant foliage against a neutral background.
A vibrant, abstract floral composition set against a striking gradient background, featuring a red flower and lush green foliage.
Vibrant red flowers with long stems and bursts of golden fireworks against a dark blue background, with two large beetles in the foreground.
A surreal and whimsical illustration featuring a skeletal figure surrounded by vibrant, abstract floral elements against a muted, dreamlike background.
A group of vibrant orange and white butterflies with intricate patterns on their wings are displayed against a plain, light-colored background.
A vibrant bouquet of pink cosmos flowers surrounded by buzzing bees against a soft, hazy background.
A metallic, insect-like creature with intricate, feather-like appendages rests on a dark, glossy surface against a neutral background.
A vibrant cluster of red pomegranate seeds nestled among delicate white flowers against a moody, dark background.
A large gray beetle rests amidst vibrant green and orange plant-like forms against a deep blue background.
Students and guests color and draw around a table, enjoying the interactive visit
Visitors stand in front of a wall that reads %22Imagining Symbiosis%22 looking at books
Two visitors admire a painting with flowers and bumblebees
Students and younger children admire the art in the Brodigan gallery
A visitor takes a photo of a 3D Printed sculpture against a hanging canvas
A sign that reads %22Decaying into Bloom%22 and %22Yuko Oda%22
Two students admire a painting of butterflies with iridescent features
A student takes a photo of a painting of a spiny lobster with flowers
The artist, Yuko Oda speaks to visitors at the reception outside the gallery
A student colors in a ink drawing at the opening reception
"Decaying into Bloom" by Yuko Oda

Spring Brodigan exhibit invites visitors to imagine a future of interspecies symbiosis

Yuko Oda’s gallery exhibition at the Christopher C. Brodigan Gallery was a project two years in the making. 

Brodigan Gallery Director Jennifer Ho originally reached out to Ms. Oda in 2024 for a spring exhibition after an artist had canceled, but after some discussion, Ms. Ho decided she wanted to give Ms. Oda more time to create a more extensive body of work.

The result is Decaying into Bloom, a mixed-media exhibition which combines the use of everything from natural, imported, Japanese dyes to synthetic iridescent plastics and even a 3D-printed ladybug.

Ms. Oda’s art centers primarily around insects, such as ladybugs and butterflies. “As an immigrant oscillating between cultures, I empathize with living beings that migrate and adapt to survive,” she wrote in her artist’s statement, elaborating that she moved from Japan to the Philippines and back as a young child, and has struggled to find belonging. 

The project itself came about during the pandemic when Ms. Oda was feeling isolated and worried by the state of the world and the decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords. Ms. Oda’s art turned explosive, and afterwards she began to imagine what the world might look like in a post-apocalyptic future: where in Nature 2.0 plants and animals have merged and hybridized through symbiosis. 

“I started creating imagery and thinking of ideas of how species as we know them might look differently after the apocalypse,” Ms. Oda explained. “So the work really, I think, has hope in it and has a beauty of nature, resilience, and potential for healing and surviving.”

One of her many large, colorful works that hang in the gallery features a Japanese spiny lobster, which is a symbol of celebration in Japanese culture. In her painting lilies bloom from the crustacean’s carapace. 

“Here it is called ‘Celebration’ and there is a whole ecosystem of plants growing out of the antennas and tiger lilies blooming, sea algae coming out of their bodies, and of course there’s also mushrooms and fungi as well to signify the decomposing and death part of the ecosystem,” she said of the work.

The exhibition also features a collaborative interactive workshop, where viewers can create their own symbiotic relationship with a sumi-e ink drawing and various art materials that are provided on tables outside of the gallery.

 Decaying into Bloom is on view March 31–May 10.