The shape is "words". Designer Naho Okamoto returns to her roots in Switzerland
2019.03.29
Don't be bound by preconceived notions and live faithfully to your own aesthetic sense. The series "Seekers of Freedom" touches upon the thoughts of such "Seekers of Freedom" and evokes the power of images that effortlessly transcend the concept of known things and time.
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SIRI SIRI representative and designer Naho Okamoto continues to pursue her own sense of beauty and sensibility. In 2018, 12 years after starting SIRI SIRI, she decided to study abroad in Switzerland. I think many people had doubts about studying abroad when they were making steady progress as a jewelry brand.
"Why study abroad at this timing?"
"What are you going to study in Switzerland?"
We asked Okamoto, who is currently studying abroad, about his true intentions and the thoughts behind his study abroad. What emerged was a figure of a “freedom seeker” who sincerely looked at himself and the society that surrounded him, and continued to act for further transformation.
Naho Okamoto｜NAHO OKAMOTO
SIRI SIRI representative and designer. Graduated from the Space Design Department of Kuwasawa Design Institute. In 2006, he started the jewelry brand "SIRI SIRI". Making use of her experience in architecture and interior design, she creates jewelry using materials around her, such as glass. Currently researching communication between people and things at a graduate school in Switzerland. http://sirisiri.jp/
to regain sensibility
Okamoto's decision to study abroad did not come out of the blue.
Okamoto: I like making things, and I used to make things and draw pictures myself. Taking advantage of that sensibility, I started SIRI SIRI and made it my job. I was.
Because, in fact, there are many fans in the old works. For example, Kiriko's bangles and earrings have become SIRI SIRI's signature items and are still selling well. I think that (in my early works) free exploration and free thinking are very much expressed, and the objects themselves embody the purity of manufacturing. And SIRI SIRI's customers also like that kind of thing.
Perhaps this is something that has been lost after 10 years of SIRI SIRI. That's why I wanted to do something that would bring back sensitivity.
It was a coincidence that she chose Switzerland as her study abroad destination when she started to realize her long-cherished dream. I wanted to study abroad in Europe, but I can only speak English. And only a limited number of graduate schools offer master's programs in English. I chose a university for such practical reasons, and I happened to be accepted to the Master of Design at the Bern University of the Arts HKB in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
More coincidences follow. She had never been to Switzerland and had little prior knowledge, but once she actually lived there, the world view was very close to her ideal.
Okamoto: Switzerland has beautiful public facilities and beautiful advertising. For example, even one poster for a bank is personally very creative. It's not about "annual rate of percentage", it's just a little joke or just one photo. I think that it is possible because Switzerland is economically rich, but when I see such things, I feel that designers and artists are able to work without suppressing their own sensibilities.
Aiming for a society where sensitivity can be demonstrated
What exactly do you study in graduate school? Her research theme is "Communication between people and things".
Okamoto: Drugstores, supermarkets, fast fashion... It's full of everything now. I feel that design is used for such mass-consumed things.
For example, if you think of things as people, you will start to feel that those people (things) are being used only for the sake of the economy. I don't think it's necessary to suppress your own sensibilities to make such things. More to the point, I think (Japan) is not a society where designers can express their sensibilities.
In the world of Shinto, there is a story about Yaoyorozu Kami, which says that gods dwell in all things. In that way, Japan should have been a country that was originally very grateful for things. However, there is a big gap between that and the current situation. That's why I wanted to take action on the site in my own way. I want to be in a position where I can show my sensibility by getting a little closer to the artist's side. In graduate school, I decided to research that methodology.
Modeling is a means of expressing the inner world
Her research method of choice was to create “sculptures” with her own hands. Why does making sculpture lead to research on "communication between people and things"? When I asked her about it, she said, "I chose sculpture to enhance my sensitivity."
Okamoto: In the sculpture, I have created about 40 emotions. It is based on an emotion chart created by Dr. Gloria Willcox. The smallest circle is about 6 big emotions such as "Mad" and "Joyful". The second stage is a circle that disperses it a little more finely. For example, "Mad" is further subdivided into several negative emotions, such as "Angry" and "Hurt." There are 36 of them, and I picked up a few from the larger circles that were further subdivided, for a total of 40 emotions.
Design is something that makes people feel positive through things. And since designers are problem-solving jobs, they usually only deal with positive emotions. I thought it would be a really good thing to face negative emotions that I normally don't face when I try to delve into myself.
I also wanted to explore the pure forms within myself. Among my five senses, my sense of sight is the strongest. Information can be read not only from the shape of objects, but also from fonts and other non-words. I feel that it is a synesthesia thing.
It's hard to put into words, but for me, my word is "form". I wonder if it's okay to say that "the way of communicating is the form"... Just as writers write novels and poems to express their inner feelings, I create sculptures and jewelry to express my inner feelings.
Also, when you move your hands, it's easier to feel affection for things, and it's easier to project your feelings. You will be able to imagine the way you think about materials and the process of making them.
Achieving ideals and becoming a role model
By shaping with his own hands, he tries to communicate with things. However, in today's world where it is natural to emphasize things that are visible and easy to understand and seek efficiency and rationality, it is difficult to immediately understand that the motivation for choosing a research method is to "enhance sensitivity." .
Okamoto: My research is not a practical research, such as creating a “concrete device” to change the mass consumption society. It's probably "action". I think it's close to feeling like "○○ movement".
In Japan, in particular, there is a perception that designers should limit their own sensibilities and expressiveness. I don't think that's the case, and I think it would be great if we could create a society that doesn't.
That's why I want to embody that work can be done while making use of sensibility. If a role model who realizes the ideal appears, other similar businesses may be born, and a similar way of life can be affirmed. That's why I wish I could be that role model.
To create a society where people can create things without suppressing their sensibilities. First of all, she concentrates on enhancing her sensibility, and is trying to prove by herself that the works created from within can be widely accepted by society.
Swiss nature was not scary
In March 2019, a new work "EXCAVATION" was announced. The view of the world developed there transcends the natural and dignified appearance that SIRI SIRI originally had, and even felt a more primitive flavor. Switzerland is a country that is economically blessed, but also has magnificent nature. I felt that the fact that more primitive works appeared at this timing was due to the influence of being in Switzerland, which is rich in nature even in Europe.
Okamoto: Switzerland is an environment rich in urban and natural combinations. In any city, if you go for a short distance, you can find nature, and you can go hiking with the feeling of "Let's go to a cafe." Even if you don't consciously think about it, Switzerland is in such a situation.
Actually, I didn't like nature very much. I have always thought that Japan's natural environment, such as earthquakes, typhoons, and landslides, is uncontrollable and scary. But the nature of Switzerland was different. The mountains are calm and there are no storms. It's not the slightest threat. I don't know yet if it has something to do with design, but I feel that the distance to nature is getting very close.
On the other hand, by putting himself in a different culture, he seems to have come to feel the goodness and uniqueness of Japan in some ways.
Okamoto: The character of the Swiss is very similar to that of the Japanese. Likes to be clean and is punctual. But the animistic stories about things with souls and the Shinto values that Japanese people have seem to sound very spiritual to Swiss people.
In general, I feel that black and white are very clear in the West, but human beings aren't like that. Humans are vague, gray, sometimes good, sometimes bad. I think that it is the traditional Japanese religious views and values that embody such things. And now, everyone admires such Japanese values. I think it's the desire of the times.
I thought of myself as a fairly rational person. But after coming here, I realized that Japanese people are inherently spiritual. I think Japanese people naturally believe in things they can't see.
Become a brand that embodies the ideal world
There is a new world that can be seen by changing the environment and deepening learning, and there is an identity that is established. By taking a step forward, the world expands and sensitivity is nurtured. She shows it through her actions. For her, who is always a seeker, there may be no such thing as an empty theory on paper.
In fact, Okamoto is considering establishing a SIRI SIRI base in Switzerland even after graduating from graduate school. I feel that fate is truly a strange thing to think about creating a base in a country that you happen to be visiting.
Okamoto: I came to Switzerland by chance. But in fact, I feel that what I thought was good about this kind of worldview since I was a child was exactly Switzerland (the worldview).
Isn't it an inevitability that transcends chance? I can't help but look forward to how this relationship will develop in the future.
Okamoto: Until now, we have always wanted to realize a harmonious world where we can work without forgetting our sensibilities, even if it is within our capabilities. I hope that SIRI SIRI will become a brand that can embody the ideal world more and more.
The journey to enhance sensitivity never ends.
Her quest to remain a freedom seeker
We aim for endless depth and endless heights, and continue onward.
Written by Yuki Hirakawa
Photo by Hanna Büker ( whereshadowsfall.com )