I recently saw a very interesting exhibition in Tokyo, called “ZAKKA -Goods and Things-“, which takes a broad look at the sensibility behind Zakka (things that accompany our everyday life and add a subtle element of decoration) and the environments they occupy, drawing attention to the appeal of their design and appearance.

It raises a few questions that are closely related to my working process.

– What are the uses of things? We can think about a “specific function” which physically helps in the accomplishment of a purpose, and an “abstract action,” through which things themselves impart richness or value to the minds of the people who encounter them or to the locations where they are placed.

– Take an object from a place and strip it of all functionality, it’s meaning and context. Could this object nevertheless have some sort of appeal just for its mere appearance? What is the difference between objects you see and objects you know?

– To reexamine the essence and value of things by taking familiar ready-made and mass produced goods, filing down their surfaces, and striping away the layers that people are used to seeing. When the surface of a daily object changes, what information is it that gets us to recognize it as it was in everyday life?

By going through these questions, I try to discover not only the beauty of objects but also their new value and possibilities.

ZAKKA -Goods and Things-

Date: February 26 – June 5, 2016 | Location: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo.