The Ultimate Vessel
KOPPE ASTNER, GLASGOW
Through January 9
KOPPE ASTNER, GLASGOW
Through January 9
Laura Aldridge, Olga Balema, Mark Barker, Nina Beier, Neil Bickerton, Charlie Billingham, Katarina Burin, Hamish Chapman, Dan Coopey, Tim Davies, Tacita Dean, Nicolas Deshayes, Grier Edmundson, Matthew Ferguson, Simon Fujiwara, Mathew Hale, Anthea Hamilton, Richard Healy, Leila Hekmat, Celia Hempton, Richard Lockett, Cameron Irving, Kris Lemsalu, George Henry Longly, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Niall Macdonald, Lorna Macintyre, Helen Marten, Patrizio Di Massimo, Craig Mulholland, Oliver Osborne, Eddie Peake, Peles Empire, Charlotte Prodger, Magali Reus, Megan Rooney, Giles Round, Prem Sahib, Matthew Smith, Cally Spooner, Edward Thomasson, Caragh Thuring, Mark Wallinger, Ric Warren And Jesse Wine
Dear Emma and Kendall, I hate to throw things away, despite the fact that
it is proven to have a positive effect on your life. Winter is coming and in light
of the migrantcrisis, I did a cull of my wardrobe for donation.
I don’t believe in charity, per se but in the chaotic world we have inherited,
I consider the bigger picture and make compromises.
I couldn‘t help noticing in the news that many of these young men pay
a level of attention to their clothing that is unprecedented in the history
of migration. They are hip and aware! Of course it is a symptom of our
globalised, image based society that even in war torn countries, one would
consider cool jeans and current haircuts. The migrants are real, living
humans, why should they not consider their image? Sifting through my
clothes, the impulsive buys that seem such a good idea at the time.. I felt
the eye of their recipients judging me and my wardrobe. It was not how
I wanted to be portrayed. The clothes remain in tote bags in my hallway.
Incidentally, I recently started practicing the ancient Japanese art of
Ikebana floral arrangement. I was always put off by Ikebana as I thought
it was a dogmatic craft tradition. I judged too quickly. I didn’t realise
how expressive and calming it could be. Minimalism is the key—never
buy more flowers than you will use, always consider how the stems of
each flower, arranged vertically in shallow water trays, will interact with
one another. Working with 5 stems as a limit I set myself, I learned to
consider every flower for its biological health and subtle beauty—if a flower
is too beautiful or ostentatious, it destroys the harmony. Ultimately the
arrangements reflect your mood and feeling at a given moment, a step by
step portrait that captures your feelings. How wrong we have understood
Eastern minimalist philosophy in the West! It’s not about clearing out—it’s
about accruing reflectively, so that your possessions represent you as a
culmination of considered events in your life.
What does this have to do with you exhibition, you’re probably wondering.
Well I have come to conclude that considering only the vessel and not what
is contained is considering only part of the picture. How can a flower speak
alone when the vessel speaks for it? And, given the chance to speak, what
would these flowers and these vessels say about our lost and lonely world?
it is proven to have a positive effect on your life. Winter is coming and in light
of the migrantcrisis, I did a cull of my wardrobe for donation.
I don’t believe in charity, per se but in the chaotic world we have inherited,
I consider the bigger picture and make compromises.
I couldn‘t help noticing in the news that many of these young men pay
a level of attention to their clothing that is unprecedented in the history
of migration. They are hip and aware! Of course it is a symptom of our
globalised, image based society that even in war torn countries, one would
consider cool jeans and current haircuts. The migrants are real, living
humans, why should they not consider their image? Sifting through my
clothes, the impulsive buys that seem such a good idea at the time.. I felt
the eye of their recipients judging me and my wardrobe. It was not how
I wanted to be portrayed. The clothes remain in tote bags in my hallway.
Incidentally, I recently started practicing the ancient Japanese art of
Ikebana floral arrangement. I was always put off by Ikebana as I thought
it was a dogmatic craft tradition. I judged too quickly. I didn’t realise
how expressive and calming it could be. Minimalism is the key—never
buy more flowers than you will use, always consider how the stems of
each flower, arranged vertically in shallow water trays, will interact with
one another. Working with 5 stems as a limit I set myself, I learned to
consider every flower for its biological health and subtle beauty—if a flower
is too beautiful or ostentatious, it destroys the harmony. Ultimately the
arrangements reflect your mood and feeling at a given moment, a step by
step portrait that captures your feelings. How wrong we have understood
Eastern minimalist philosophy in the West! It’s not about clearing out—it’s
about accruing reflectively, so that your possessions represent you as a
culmination of considered events in your life.
What does this have to do with you exhibition, you’re probably wondering.
Well I have come to conclude that considering only the vessel and not what
is contained is considering only part of the picture. How can a flower speak
alone when the vessel speaks for it? And, given the chance to speak, what
would these flowers and these vessels say about our lost and lonely world?
Best wishes, Simon Fujiwara