Fleur van Dodewaard×Paper framing / Kyoshindo Inazaki
Crossing thoughts through time and place

Through five projects, the rooms of TOKYO CRAFT ROOM are gradually becoming more and more colorful. This project is based on “what the guests use in this room”, and has been introducing new crafts with new perspectives and techniques of designers and makers. This time the collaboration will be even richer. The Netherlands based artist Fleur van Dodewaard  and the Nihonbashi Hamacho based woodblock print maker Kyoshindo Inazaki have begun work on a new piece of art.

Artist Fleur van Dodewaard ‘s approach to making art is interesting. At the crossroads of photography, sculpture and painting, he constructs works using materials such as wood, paper, clay, tape and paint, which he finally completes in the form of photographs. His motifs and inspiration for his work often come from art history, and he values the process of exploring and interpreting them in a new and original way.

“In the beginning of a project, I always start with collecting images. I take off with the information that is given in context of the project, and freely associate and research from there. I look at reproductions in art books, images on the internet, the newspaper, things I’ve collected, anything.”

This is the art that she will create for TOKYO CRAFT ROOM. We wondered what kind of story she would weave between Netherlands and Japan. There were two things we told her at first. The first one was the concept of TOYKO CRAFT ROOM and the second one was the existence of the “Hyogu-shi”, the makers of this project.

“Hyogu” means paper or cloth stretched with glue, such as fusuma (sliding doors), shoji (paper sliding doors), hanging scrolls, folding screens, scrolls and picture frames. The craftsman who makes and restores them is the “Hyogui-shi”.It has its roots in China and was introduced to Japan with the arrival of Buddhism by the Japanese missions to Tang China. It is said that the history Hyogu began with the binding of sutra scrolls and the decoration of Buddhist paintings. In the Nara and Heian periods, it developed mainly in Kyoto, and in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, it came to make hanging scrolls as ornaments, and in the Edo period (1603-1868), it became the main business of the Hyogu craftsmen to make folding screens, sliding doors and shoji screens. The skills of the  Hyogu-shi are probably the main reason why Japanese cultural properties such as valuable works of art and tea ceremony utensils in general have been preserved to this day.

Kyoshindo Inasaki is located about 5 minutes walk from Hamacho Hotel. They have been in business for five generations since the Edo period and the sign at the entrance reads “Daikyoji”, a reference to their history.At the entrance, there is a sign saying “Daikyo-ji”, which reminds us of the history of the studio. 

“We were given the title of “Daikyo-ji” in the Edo period, a time when people were not allowed to have surnames, but we were allowed to wear our surnames. We were founded in Nihonbashi, and the area that is now Nihonbashi 2-chome was formerly known as the carpenter’s quarter, where the craftsmen who went to and from the castle lived. We also had about 70 craftsmen. I think we were the only ones in Tokyo who had the title of “Daikyo-ji” Now we do a lot of restoration. It’s hard to say what I’ve done because I work behind the scenes, but recently I’ve been involved in restoring works by famous artists and barrier paintings in temples that have been designated as important cultural properties.
Tomonobu Inazaki of Kyoshindo Inazaki, the sixth generation of the family to take part in this project, explained.”

From the moment he met him, Fleur van Dodewaard ideas for the implementation of this project in Japan were immediately put into action.

“My work on one hand has an elementary nature. Although it does involve practical skill and experience, the process of creating the work has a sort of DIY (do-it-yourself) character. Totally opposite the character of Japanese craftsmanship, it isn’t difficult to make. It often just consists of found pieces of wood which I paint and assemble and take a photograph of. The most essential part though, is the idea. Which is captured in this very basic form and at the same time has a complex structure of references and ideas”

Mr.Inazaki says “There is a difference in expression between Kyoto and Edo（Tokyo）, which were developed in different regions. ”Kyo-Hyogu”（Kyoto） is mainly used for colorless calligraphy such as sutras for temples, so it is often decorated with glittering gold. On the other hand, Edo-Hyogu（Tokyo）was developed in the context of the Ukiyo-e culture, so it was necessary to create simple and stylish to enhance the pictures. In this project, too, It’s an interesting experiment to take an art idea from the Netherlands and make it with Japanese handcraft.”

The Netherlands  and the Japanese are in the process of creating a new sensibility between the technology that has been connected for about 150 years and the sensibility of today. A dialogue has just begun to realise an unknown concept that transcends time and distance.

Fleur van Dodewaard

FLEUR VAN DODEWAARD (1983, The Netherlands) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam. Van Dodewaard operates within a triangle of photography, sculpture and painting. Through the exploration of these media she finds new ways of working with art-historical forms and there by challenges the  ‘art object’ and the way we look at things.Van Dodewaard studied THEATRE at the University of Amsterdam and FINE ARTS at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, before enrolling in the PHOTOGRAPHY department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where she graduated in 2010. Her work has been shown in exhibitions all over the world; from Japan to Russia, Australia, United States and all over Europe. At the moment she receives an Established Artist Stipend from Mondriaan Fund, The Netherlands.

www.fleurvandodewaard.com/

Kyoshindo Inazaki

Kyoshindo Inazaki is a traditional Japanese “Hyogu” company which has been established in Nihonbashi for about 180 years. “Hyogu” refers to shoji screens, fusuma doors, picture books, impulse screens, folding screens, pasted walls, hanging scrolls, scrolls and frames made of cloth or paper. The process of making them is called ‘hyosou’.And they  also specialise in the conservation and restoration of old works of art and craft.

www.kyoushindo.com/