Makiko Ryujin is a Japanese-born, Melbourne-based woodturner, designer and photographer practising experimental techniques. Ryujin carefully turns the wood on a lathe to create high-sided bowls, urns and platters based on the forms of sacred Japanese temple vessels. During the long air drying process, the forms begin to shift as the green wood loses moisture. The final dramatic transformation takes place as the timber chars and splits during the unpredictable burning process.
Makiko Ryujin completed a Bachelor of Photography at RMIT in Melbourne. In late 2014 she started studying woodwork part-time with her mentor Carl Lutz. By mid 2016 Ryujin was focusing on developing her craft as a commercial practice. Her wood-turning work calls heavily upon her childhood in Japan. The sacredness and form of the bowls within Japanese culture inform the proportions and design of the objects Ryujin creates.
Ryujin first exhibited at the gallery in Designwork 03 in 2019. In 2020, she was commissioned alongside collaborator Michael Gittings to create Saṃsāra, 2020, a site-specific lighting installation for the tearoom and mezzanine at the National Gallery of Victoria as part of NGV Triennial.
The important thing is to be acknowledged that our practice does need cost to run and time to create. Support from Craft definitely helps us being able to enjoy the process of creation, also it helps to know that someone really cares about what we do.
/ Makiko Ryujin
Aug 9 — Sep 20, 2025
Emma Davies, Noriko Nakamura, Michaela Pegum, Makiko Ryujin
In the Making presents the work of four makers that centre the act of making at the heart of their conceptual exploration in craft practice.
The exhibition speaks to the heart of what it means to be a maker. It highlights the reciprocal and responsive relationships between the practitioner, the application of craft-based skills and the creative expression that is articulated through materials.
