Tamihatanaka — 2018
In 2015, I have been lucky enough to exhibit some of my textile pieces in the Kiso House, in Paris. This two centuries old house, originally built in the village Kiso in Japan, has been dismantled and reassembled in the Acclimatation Garden to preserve it from planned destruction. This house was the house of Tami Hatanaka, the last Japanese hemp weaver. This woman has been honoured of the title juyô-mukei-bunkazai(living human treasure). This is all the facts I know about this woman, but spending a few days in her house taught me a lot about her lifestyle and habits. I was inspired by the furniture, the wear of the objects, the patina of the walls, etc… This house was empty for more than 20 years but I was breathing the life of its past inhabitants in every corner. Inspired by these impressions I had in this house, I decided to make an object for Tami Hatanaka, an object that could fit in her house, an object that could be useful for her. I decided to make a comb, an object that can be used for hairdressing and for weaving. I worked a lot on the “used” aspect and the patina to make an object in coherence with the place and the lifestyle of its inhabitants.
