Moe Watanabe・Jiro Nagase・WaNa「Y枝」
植物を採集して籠を制作している渡部萌と、金属を用いて道具や楽器、装置等を制作をしている永瀬二郎、
そして2人のユニット活動WaNaによる展覧会を開催します。
WaNaは編組・金工という各々の技術に根差しつつ、それ以外の領域も含めて共同で制作を試みる活動です。
今年の初め、LOGの庭で剪定された桐の枝がありました。
まだ緑で青々した枝には弾力があり、Y字状に分岐する枝先を合わせるように絡ませると、ラケットのような形になりました。
木の成長過程で生じた枝分かれ部分を、Y形の材木として見ると新鮮に感じられました。
持ち帰った桐の枝は、木材を蒸して曲げる「曲木」を試してみました。
クロモジやアブラチャンなどの枝が「かんじき」に用いられることを知り、それらの枝も後から採取しました。
風の抜けるLOGのオープンスペースではY枝と曲木の成果物を展示します。
あわせて、渡部の籠、永瀬の小物や椅子などの販売も行います。
Moe Watanabe · Jiro Nagase · WaNa: “Y Branches”
An exhibition by Moe Watanabe,Jiro Nagase,and their collaborative unit, WaNa.
Moe Watanabe gathers plants and creates baskets, while Jiro Nagase works with metal to make tools, instruments, and devices.
WaNa is an ongoing collaborative practice rooted in each member’s respective techniques—basketry and metalwork—while also exploring and making work that extends beyond those fields.
Earlier this year, there were paulownia branches that had been pruned from the garden at LOG. The branches were still green and supple, and when the tips of their Y-shaped forks were intertwined, they formed shapes resembling rackets. We began to see these branches not simply as branches, but as timber—as if they were naturally formed Y-shaped pieces of wood.
We brought the paulownia branches back to our studio and experimented with mageki, the technique of steaming and bending wood. After learning that branches of kuromoji and aburachan have been used to make kanjiki (traditional snowshoes), we later gathered those materials as well.
In the open space at LOG, where the wind passes through, we will present works developed through our experiments with Y-shaped branches and bent wood. Alongside these works, baskets by Watanabe and small objects and chairs by Nagase will also be available for purchase.
