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Washi Futurism Book & App are available now!
The limited edition of the book including a corresponding AR application for Iphone can be purchased at NAI book store (ground floor Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam) or directly from us.
Pricing
EUR 78.- (incl. VAT excl. shipping)
occasional special event discounts
About the Project
This project was initiated by two NL-based design duos, Cream on Chrome (Jonas Althaus and Martina Huynh) and Craft Portrait (Pauline Agustoni and Satomi Minoshima).
In the summer of 2023, the designers spent two months in Misumi, Japan, to learn from and collaborate with papermakers So Kubota and Masaru Nishita. Both are young successors of family businesses focused on the production of Sekishu Washi, a process designated as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
The team behind “Washi Futurism” has set itself the goal of imparting the valuable knowledge behind this craft through experimental publishing.
Hybrid Publication
Handmade Japanese paper, known as washi, has been used for centuries in everyday products and traditional architecture. Compared to Western paper, it has a high plasticity, unique texture and is surprisingly strong. To showcase these properties as well as the artisanal values behind them, the self-published bilingual book “Washi Futurism” dives into the craft’s history, current developments, and virtue for the future. Fourteen original Sekishu Washi samples reveal their fascinating qualities, followed by testimonies of the artisans, essays by local experts, design applications and hands-on instructions.
Limited Edition
Washi Futurism is an essential reference book for creative professionals who like to inform their choices by a material’s origin story and cultural context.
Unique Paper Samples
Behaving neither quite like regular paper, nor like textile, Sekishu Washi bears fascinating properties. Its versatility is demonstrated through fourteen high end paper samples produced by ateliers in Misumi, highlighting their specific qualities and common usages.
Interviews
In five interviews, different generations of papermakers reflect on skills, tradition, changing times, the long path of learning and what the craft means to them.
Applications
While in Japan, we were surrounded by examples of how Sekishu Washi is used in art, design and architecture. A selection of these findings are paired with practical instructions, since we very much recommend exploring this paper in a hands-on fashion.
Digital Layers
Digital Layers
In order to bring across the diverse facets of the craft, this sample book is of hybrid nature: Some pages are equipped with visual triggers for readers to scan using an Augmented Reality app for mobile phones, which will reveal their digital layer: Essays and photographs are elevated through audiovisual elements, such as immersive 360º image series that allow the reader to e.g. “step inside” the paper workshops.
For information how to use the App, and where to download it, please click the button below.
Exhibition
The exhibition ‘Washi Futurism’ is an immersive journey into the beauty, craftsmanship, and local material culture behind the traditional Japanese paper Sekishu Washi. Based on a book publication of the same name, Washi Futurism invites visitors to dive into the cosmos of this special paper by viewing a floating, luminous paper installation, experiencing close-up videos of material tests, gaining insights into the production steps, and by exploring the paper’s texture and pliability with their own hands. the exhibition focuses on current developments and experimental routes of washi, alongside showcasing the paper’s properties and rich history.
In the light of an increased awareness for sustainable materials and regenerative systems, Washi Futurism invites contemporary design, architecture and art practices to view traditional crafts not as relics of the past, but as integral part of our shared future.
Location: Gallery 3, third floor of Nieuwe Instituut, Museumpark 25, 3015 CB Rotterdam
Opening times: September 13 – November 10. Fr – Wed 10-17:00. Thu 10-21:00.
Admission: Free
Events and Special Dates:
- Finissage on Saturday November 09. 2024
Multidisciplinary Team
So Kubota
So Kubota is the 3rd generation artisan leading Sekishu Washi Kubota. After working in a sake brewery, he felt a strong sense of responsibility for taking over his family business. With his humorous and open-minded personality, So has a fondness for experimentation and collaboration.
Masaru Nishita
Masaru Nishita is the 8th generation successor of Nishita Washi Kobo. After graduating from university, he decided to work at his family’s workshop to ensure that the craft lives on. A dedicated papermaker, Masaru has a calm and focused way of reflecting about the essence of the craft.
Craft Portrait
Craft Portrait is the joint project of designers Satomi Minoshima (JP) and Pauline Agustoni (CH). The series of projects is dedicated to unveiling contemporary crafts and rethinking the narratives surrounding them. Based in Eindhoven and Berlin, the designers work directly with artisans of a given craft in order to understand a topic “from the inside out” to draw a thorough portrait of the craft.
Cream on Chrome
Cream on Chrome is a socially-engaged experience design studio, founded by Jonas Althaus (DE) and Martina Huynh (CH). Working for academic and cultural institutions, the Rotterdam-based duo designs multimedia exhibitions and interactive spaces that bring social questions closer to a general public. As artists in residence, Cream on Chrome visited Sekishu Washi artisans in Misumi in 2019 and formed a lasting collaboration.
Client Testimonials
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“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
Client Name
“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
Client Name
Save the Date
Book Launch & Exhibition Preview
Thursday 12th September, 18:00-19:30, Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam, Room 1
Exhibition Opening & Speech
Friday 13th September from 18:00 Auditorium at Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam
Guided Tours
Sa 14.09. & So 15.09. from 15:00
Meeting at F1, bookshop of Nieuwe Instituut