Research Project | Kenta Takeshige

Jolités von België

The ultimate secret of lacquer art, a traditional Japanese craft, is to "knead well". By mixing Asian lacquer and Belgian elements, I intend to fuse and evolve the East (Japan) and the West (Belgium) in lacquer art.

Visit regions in Belgium and collect raw materials, landmarks and historical backgrounds. Get relevant information from artists, designers, curators, etc. at the places I visit. Mix Asian lacquer with local Belgian raw materials, and produce lacquerware with the design images of landmarks in each region. The lacquerware to be produced is not an object, but a work that can withstand practical use.

Ostend → material: mussel shells, design image: Fort Napoleon
Rumst → material: Rupel clay, design image: clay bread
Genk → material: Terril soil, design image: C-mine crane
Spa → material: Spa spring water, design image: Jolités de Spa

Traditional crafts are ecological and sustainable creative activities rooted in regions. However, because they protect tradition, they cannot keep up with the trends of the times, and the current situation is that some of them continue to decline. Crafts need further evolution. By mixing Asian lacquer and Belgian locality, you find new vitality in traditional lacquer art. It is necessary to "break tradition with tradition".

Crafts are an added value. By creating works in which lacquerware tells its own story, I would like to make the viewers reaffirm the added value of crafts.

Furthermore, I recommend craftsmanship that does not burden the global environment. By developing works that incorporate the regional characteristics of Belgium, my work will contribute to the rediscovery of the diversity and history of Belgium.
(KASK graduation exhibition at the Ghent Design Museum)

Prototype for "Relational Design" by Royal Academy of Ghent (KASK)

This prototype was made for the project "Relational Design" of Ghent Academy of Arts (KASK). I was invited to participate in the research team by Professor Dirk van Gogh of the Department of Product Design and project manager. The project aims to design sustainable manufacturing. We reconsidered the concept of recycling by incorporating reassembly based on three elements: Furoshiki (textile), Origami and woodworking joints.

In my search I thought of adding more functions. Furniture can be roughly divided into boxes and legged furniture. I have incorporated these two different types into one package. In other words, it's a transformer.

Assemble the parts that fit neatly in the Furoshiki into a box. The Furoshiki fits into the lid. The parts can be rearranged into an altar. In my eagerness, I even added a third shape: a desk. It is a great deal, three in one. On the downside: this prototype does not contain any Origami elements.

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