Created by 9 + 1, this installation reinterprets the Japanese spirit of shitsurai, the art of arranging space with quiet intention.
Light is wrapped in washi pulp dripped from kozo fibers, while lenses reveal fragments of flowers and light in dialogue with nature.
Fragmented Landscape, 2023
Nature
The spirit of plant life is captured, offering a renewed interpretation of the ever-evolving landscape shaped by diverse vegetation.
Between stillness and growth, tradition and change, harmony and tension coexist, reflecting a quiet dialogue between humans and nature.
Fragmented
Through the lens, the landscape becomes fragmented.
Light, shadow, color, and form separate and reassemble into new visual structures.
Nature remains present, yet the shifting perspective creates layered impressions that reveal another dimension within perception.
Constructed
Fragments come together again, connecting natural forms with human imagination.
The curves of flowers and the green of leaves symbolize both fragility and renewal.
By visualizing the relationship between time and environment, the work constructs a renewed sense of unity between nature and human presence.
Soft Silence , 2024
Lightness in Tradition
This project explores the fusion of Japanese traditional craft and digital technology through washi paper, a material that gently transitions with time.
The liquid pulp of washi is dripped by a plotter, creating delicate layers shaped freely from digital data.
By merging technology with the 1300 year old art of papermaking, the project reveals new textures of washi, connecting tradition and innovation.
Material Lightness
Made from kozo fibers, washi is light, strong, and flexible.
This installation embraces its natural qualities, gently swaying with wind, water, and the presence of people.
The droplets from the plotter form patterns that enhance the soft reflection of light.
As a water soluble and biodegradable material, washi embodies sustainability.
The work expresses a quiet harmony between time, nature, and technology through the lightness of tradition and material.
Craft Prism, 2020
Nature and Perception
This work reflects an image captured from multiple perspectives.
The landscape is fragmented by a square lens, giving birth to a reconstructed image that invites us to perceive and think differently.
It is reconstituted on the lens from a combination of elements derived both from what we see and what we know.
Through this process, I explore how composition and perception define our relationship with nature—what we notice first, what we feel, and what it means to truly see the landscape.
Flowers placed behind the lens appear to bloom within water, blurring the boundary between image and reflection.
Formation
The work was created by pressing heated glass onto a CNC-machined plaster mold shaped like a lens.
This process produces a precise repetition of concave surfaces, forming a rhythmic structure across the glass.
When water is poured into the work, the surface refracts light and transforms the object into an array of lenses.
Through the interaction of glass, water, and light, the installation captures both the precision of technology and the organic fluidity of nature.
About Yuko Sakamoto
Our mission is to breathe life into pioneering products, crafts, and artworks—drawing inspiration from both time-honored Japanese craftsmanship and the evolving.