Time to switch up the content a little and showcase the work of Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto. I imagine there could be a little bit of controversy surrounding Azuma's work, as he often takes his flower arrangements out to new environments with the hope of showcasing the relationship that these plants have with nature and the ever changing beauty of it.
Actually, this is something that I often notice about Japanese culture. Although Japanese garden design is very free and quite natural looking, this is achieved through very talented craftsman who are skilfully able to replicate the appearance of nature. An interesting contrast to the western culture where we like to control every aspect of our surroundings.
This particular project by Azuma Makoto has him experiment with the great outdoors, taking his arrangement to the snowy plains of Hokkaido in Japan. The process starts with the original flowers being arranged in to a sculpture, Azuma himself slowly drips water on to the flowers so that they freeze and become an ice sculpture. I think the concepts that he has been toying with are really great and I hope he continues to break ground with his work. You have to appreciate any artist who can be free and push their medium to new levels not seen before. Watch the video below to see the process in full.
This article was also posted on my personal website here →
A Selection of Previous Posts:
Malfatti Glass - Functional Vessels by Daniel Spitzer and Jill Reynolds
Urban Shapes - Furniture by Belgian Design Studio & Workshop Nortstudio
Experimenting with Nature - Black Granite Sculptures by Japanese Artist Masaomi Raku
The Papermaker - A Short Film on German Craftsman Gangolf Ulbricht
Building on Systems - Lithographs, Etchings & Monoprints by Artist Elvia Perrin
Documenting Details - Imagery by German Photographer Friederike von Rauch
Please follow me @oen for more interesting art, design and travel content.
Works seen here by azumamakoto.com