IKEBANA 0101

Collaborators: FabCafe Tokyo, Studio Artec, master craftsman Mr.Yuji Ueno, Loft Works and Israel Embassy in Tokyo.
2015

Ikebana 0101 integrates traditional Ikebana with 3d printing technology.
We 3d scanned variant flowers with Artec Studio technology. The processed files of the flowers were later printed with the intention to integrate them in an Ikebana arrangement. Visit the full report of the event here.

In the process of digitization the flower loses some of its qualities like transparency and delicateness while gaining new ones; sewing the surfaces of the digital flower so they will be able to perform as "solid body" (good for print) adds digital language to the form. The printing process adds another layer of form manipulation as a side effect ; building with layers and support leaves traces on the surface and change the structure of the source. This "handmade" process of "fixing" the file before printing and removing support re positions the craft back in the process. Hans, the digital fabricated flower holds similarities to the original flower while offering new qualities and aesthetics.


Ikebana according to Ueno San is "an action for human beings". He continues; "People misinterpret Ikebana as craft dedicated to express the beauty of nature". Sculpturing his arrangement Ueno san crafts a narrative where nature and human actions trigger us to contemplate our very basic perceptions regarding life, death, natural and artificial. Observing and working with the 3d printing flowers Ueno san felt it cannot be seen as "Artificial" rather as "Natural" since it is us humans who make it to be what it is. In that sense the artificial and the natural are not opposites but rather a continuation.

During the live Ikebana performance Ueno san chose to combine roots with the 3d printed flowers and to hang everything in the air. The roots were his key for creating a desired harmony. Looking at the arrangement I felt it was symbolic since the digital is perceived as abstract and its materiality is considered as non-matter. Hans, combining this with roots is provocative and intriguing.