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Writer's pictureaomikikuchi

Power of Creativity Art Book


Product Details

ISBN-13:9788419192622Publisher:Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Publication date:05/15/2022

Pages:196Product dimensions:8.27(w) x 11.69(h) x 0.53(d)




Featured Work


Title: Love for All Things Shirt Yoke/Collar/Back

Year: 2021

Media: Fiber Scraps

Dimension: 30” x 22” ,77 x 55 (cm)

I am learning kimono weaving at the Yoshida weaving workshop in the Nishijin district, which is the center of kimono weaving in Japan. As is often the case when making textiles, weavers are worried that they may not have the required amount, so they dye more threads than they need. The remaining threads are of little use in making new kimono fabrics. This is because the weaver decides to create a new piece based on a design plan such as thread size and color combination. If I don't take advantage of these leftover threads, they will be thrown away someday. I never sewed with weaving thread, but I decided to try it. Not only in the workshop, but also in my house, the rest of the thread used for sewing in the past has not been used for years. In addition to that, I thought that the cloth used for trial dyeing and scrap after making the work could be incorporated into my new work.

I drew a design on a non-woven fabric that dissolves in water, and used the zigzag function of the sewing machine to draw a picture on it with those threads and cloth. This work uses a shirt pattern, so if the foundation cloth is dissolved in water, each will be finished in the shape of a shirt part. Since there is no base, the thread part will be lace. The part that incorporates the cloth is finished as embroidery.

This design is a reused of a previously made wedding kimono called Uchikake. In contrast to this colorful finish, the kimono fabric was lined with gold ink and it was burned with incense sticks, leaving only the lines. I chose the patterns traditionally used for Japanese ceremonial kimonos such as upper and lower dragons, peony, wisteria, chrysanthemums, owls and butterflies.

I'm trying to give new value and meaning by finding new perspectives on what is considered useless and what I have created earlier. I am also trying to take advantage of the zigzag features of sewing machines that are used only for limited purposes, such as engraving names and trimming fabrics.




Title: Leftover 2021

Year: 2021

Media: Silk Gauze, Goose Down, Hair Extension

Size: 22”H x 13”W x 4”D, 55 x 32 x 10 (cm)


In 2018, I made a work called Leftover with the same title as this time. I made three skulls by gluing silk gauze in the same way as last time, but this time,I planted individual hairs on the skull and pierced a small lump of goose down made like beads. The three skulls were braided at the ends of the hair.

I observed a dead bird. The bird lost its shape in four or five days, leaving only bones and feathers at the end. These skulls, hairs and feathers are metaphors of the impermanence and insubstantiality of all life.

This work is a reproduction of the theme of the previous work, and was made using the materials used last time, reusing hair extensions, and using goose down from old duvets that are household waste. They meet the concepts of reuse, reduction and recycling.



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