"ROOT" is a convex and concave Washi fabric that can be mass-produced while pretending to be accidental.
Hello.
Today, I'll write about the uneven washi textiles I made with Tamiya Orimono in Kyotango City, an area known as the Kyoto of the Sea (a five-minute drive to the sea, I like it!).
The materials used are silk and handmade Washi, and the production is done half by machine and half by hand.
The Tango region has a history of more than 1,300 years as a traditional silk weaving center, and has supported the traditional Japanese culture of kimono.
Among them, Tamiya Orimono has a special and amazing technique of making textiles out of sea shells called mother-of-pearl inlay, and there are many unusual, interesting and beautiful textiles. If you like materials, you can spend a whole day here and never get bored.
The first time I met Mr. Tamiya was at the "MAISON & OBJET" exhibition in Paris in January of this year. We had a mutual acquaintance, I had heard about him from others, and I had a close connection with a craftsman in Nishijin who is a good friend of mine, although he is already an old man.
It was an exhibition that made me feel the breadth and narrowness of the world at the same time. I assumed that Mr. Tamiya and I were on the same page, and asked him about Washi textiles.
Last year, I was working with a certain shoe brand, Company A, to make sneakers using our imitation leather. I thought that using only Washi for the logo would be too ordinary and uninteresting, and that anyone could do it.
In the end, I got as far as the second sample, but there were inevitably tears and this project was abandoned.
I had never heard of this before, but one of the steps in the shoemaking process is to suspend the heel, and since it is pulled with a great deal of force, the load seems to be considerable, which caused the tear.
It may have been unavoidable because it was paper, and I thought it might have been too reckless, but I was still frustrated. But I was still frustrated. I felt like I couldn't do it because it was paper. As a result of that frustration, I thought about what I should do, and I thought, "If it's made of fabric, it has more room to expand and contract, so why not make it into fabric? That's how I came up with the idea.
At that time, I had a chance encounter with Mr. Tamiya, and we decided to collaborate.
We had a great time discussing and arguing over delicious salt ramen from Kyotango (the best in Japan in my opinion, the soup is exquisite!) until something new was born. ), the two of us, who never say "no", had a great time discussing and arguing!
In August, I took a family trip to Horaiji Mountain in Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture, when I was still in a hurry to decide what kind of fabric I would make to show off at the exhibition in October.
There, we came across a large cedar tree called Kasa-sugi, which is said to be the tallest in Japan. The tree is said to be over 800 years old and 60 meters high. A great big senior!
The moment I stood in front of the Kasa-sugi(a large cedar), I thought to myself, "I want to make this majestic trunk! I thought to myself.
That powerful, yet tolerant and dignified appearance. I thought it was cool. I mean, it's just something I admire.
After that, we started to make washi textiles like Kasa-sugi (a large cedar), but simply making a unique weaving on washi is not interesting.
I thought to myself, "If all I have to do is to create a unique weave on Washi, then I don't need to do it. I wondered how I could express the emotion I felt at that time, and after much deliberation, I decided to paste the washi in a haphazard manner and add an unbelievable amount of strength to the thickness. The image of a trunk growing up.
Then, I gave Mr. Tamiya an object that I was not sure if it was Washi or something else, and he did a very difficult and special original weaving.
It was so difficult that we could not leave it to the loom, and we needed the help of human hands to do it. It was quite thick. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Tamiya Orimono.
Then, I rub the woven fabric into a crumpled mess by hand without thinking about it.
The reason is that the weaving is too beautiful.
The reason is that the weave is so beautiful that I could only recognize it as a complete textile, not as Washi, even for me.
This is too high a level of perfection (Tamiya Orimono's level is too high), or so I thought. It may be fine as a textile, but not as a work of art. It's just too seamless.
So I couldn't do anything about it, and as a last resort, I crumpled it up and broke up the beautiful weave (if it didn't look good, it was the end of the story).
Then, as it collapsed, its expression became richer, and a sense of dynamism or life was born. It also brought back the feeling I had when I stood in front of the cedar tree. Call it self-satisfaction, but it was important to me...
I always do my work by being honest with myself. I confront difficult problems even when I am faced with them. And when the solution comes down from heaven, I want to shout, "Yes! There are times when I am so happy that I almost cry.
Whether it's good or bad, I want to continue to have that kind of attitude toward manufacturing. I want to be honest, straightforward, and honest with myself.
The washi textiles created in this way are really beautiful, as they are our own creations, of course.
The reason why I named the work "Root" is because I was standing in front of the Kasa-sugi(a large cedar), looking up all the time, and when I looked down at the base of the cedar, I saw a huge root stretching across the earth, as if it was about to start moving.
That's when I thought.
If we only focus on what we can see, we will miss the important things.
In other words, "Don't be in a hurry, don't panic, just take your time and walk at your own pace, one step at a time.
I tend to get carried away and lose sight of things in my daily busyness, but thanks to Kasa-sugi (a large cedar), I was reminded of the many things I value.
That was the story of my favorite work, the living washi textile "Root". Thank you for reading to the end.
