If we
needed any encouragement to maintain our Makers Lunch Programme then Akiko
Hirai's first visit to Bevere provided just that. The level of exchange and
interaction between Akiko and our lunchtime guests was engaging and very
informative and judging by the sales of her work there is no doubt that her
work is widely admired.
By
her own admission, she has no secrets; all aspects of her working practice were
openly discussed. She gave frank and direct answers to the many questions she
had over our two hours together. Her work is clearly influenced by the Japanese
tradition but with a strong contemporary feel. Her recognisable ceramic voice
developed over time rather than some overnight revelation and as with so many
creative makers she continues to experiment with new glazes. The moon jar and
sake bottles demonstrate the
looseness of her making technique and what can best be described as a
controlled randomness which leads to such well balanced yet quite eclectic
pieces.
She
enjoys the multicultural environs of London where she lives and works and based
in the Chocolate Factory along with other artists and makers she welcomes the
interaction between them. There is often a sharing of insights and experience
which can inform ones own practice.
Her
teaching experience is considerable and she has no doubt that this informs her
own making as the need to understand process and the impact of specificactions
underpins her own approach to making. She is always keen to understand the why
as well as the what of her creativity. In many ways this is evident in her love
of the written word and the emphasis she places on describing her environment
and her remembered perspectives on the world.
Above
all else there is a modesty about Akiko which is so appealing and not
withstanding her own perspectives on her work she is very open to the views of
others. She has a cerebral approach to her work and a clarity about what she
wants to achieve and given that English is not her first language, we could
only admire the articulate responses to questions and her facility to describe
her ceramic life so perceptively.
Thank
you to all those who spent lunchtime with us as it is their interaction that
makes the event a memorable one.
Stuart
Dickens
Ceramic
Curator
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