Ms.Understoned
Yuki Buma / Animation / Japan / Japanese / 11 minutes / 2024
By photographing a mirror with clay attached to it from a blind spot, I primarily used the technique of creating a single space or object by combining the reflected world and the clay, with the mirror’s surface serving as the boundary.
In Japanese health and physical education textbooks, it is written that women “become rounded.” This description evokes the image of stones gradually smoothed and rounded by a flowing river.
We interact with the world by selectively using the “clean parts of our distorted mirrors” and “walls.” However, distortions that exceed a certain frame are often deemed “wrong” or “bad.” It is our individual “positions” that transform the mirror of the mind into a wall and the wall into a mirror.
Even small words or actions can unknowingly leave deep trauma in the hearts of others. A heart that continues to endure such wounds eventually loses its ability to reflect, like a broken mirror.
We grow up within the frameworks shaped by society, convincing ourselves that we cannot survive without them—whether imposed by others or created by ourselves.
The protagonist of this work symbolizes an individual struggling under the burden of “appearance supremacy,” a framework born from the gaze and expectations of others.
While standards of body shape change with the times, they always seem to be somewhat distorted and excessive.
We know the undeniable fact that human bones cannot be sculpted like stones. Yet countless individuals remain trapped in their internal quadrangles, continuing to live in silent agony.
Cast & Crew: Yuki Buma
Director’s Bio
Born in Aichi, Japan in 2004. Since April 2022, she has been studying at Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences.
She explores narratives that draw on homonyms and linguistic structures.
She handles every aspect of her work, from visuals to sound, and deploys a wide range of techniques tailored to each theme.
