Comb for Otohime
Dimensions
29 x 190 x 60 mm (each)
Materials
Combs (3): PET bottles and silver; algae patterns were developed using kirigami paper-cutting technique, transferred to a PET bottle, hand cut and dyed, then mounted (riveted) on to combs that were forged and rolled from thick silver wire
Artist statement
‘I am inspired by the complexity of marine botany and more generally by how modern interaction with objects is defined by a specific purpose — once its function is fulfilled, the object is disposed with. This behaviour has little emotional bearing on the user and consequently leads to the overconsumption of goods and the decline in our ability to recognise simple beauty.
My work is a contemporary interpretation of a Japanese hair comb for women living in an underwater society such as the one described in the folk tale Urashima Taro. The designs are based on kirigami, a repetitive pattern made by folding and cutting paper. Kirigami is the most accessible form of openwork in Japan and is a design tool I frequently use in my jewellery practice.
I hope that my use of PET bottles can lead to a reconsideration of what beauty is and the humility to see wonder in the everyday.’
Comb for Otohime
Rui Kikuchi
Dimensions
29 x 190 x 60 mm (each)
Materials
Combs (3): PET bottles and silver; algae patterns were developed using kirigami paper-cutting technique, transferred to a PET bottle, hand cut and dyed, then mounted (riveted) on to combs that were forged and rolled from thick silver wire
Artist statement
‘I am inspired by the complexity of marine botany and more generally by how modern interaction with objects is defined by a specific purpose — once its function is fulfilled, the object is disposed with. This behaviour has little emotional bearing on the user and consequently leads to the overconsumption of goods and the decline in our ability to recognise simple beauty.
My work is a contemporary interpretation of a Japanese hair comb for women living in an underwater society such as the one described in the folk tale Urashima Taro. The designs are based on kirigami, a repetitive pattern made by folding and cutting paper. Kirigami is the most accessible form of openwork in Japan and is a design tool I frequently use in my jewellery practice.
I hope that my use of PET bottles can lead to a reconsideration of what beauty is and the humility to see wonder in the everyday.’