The starting point for this piece was to take the Akari Light Sculptures by world-renowned sculptor, Isamu Noguchi, and reinterpret them for the modern age.

The bamboo curvatures were replaced with thin stainless steel wiring, and the washi paper is the world’s thinnest paper called Tengu Shoshi. Usually, light fixtures that are made using washi paper shade the light source inside, however, in “SUKI” there is a space between the layers of washi, causing geometrical shadows to be cast on the walls and floors around the fixtures.

I have always liked making lighting fixtures with my hands, and I had originally made the prototype for what was to become SUKI for a project at Lausanne Art University. After this, I went back and polished up the concept and presented it in its current form at this year’s Milano Salone Satellite.

I chose to make the product by hand to emphasized the beauty of sculptural objects. When crafting these objects, your movements and physical senses reflect in the finished product. 1 millimeter or sometimes even 0.1 millimeter of a difference in placement can affect the overall shape of the object, giving each product a unique atmosphere and vibe.

In order to create each piece by hand, I had to start from scratch, and acquiring the skills to do this was quite difficult. For example, in order to mold the paper to the stainless mold, I had to use a technique which is often used with Shoji doors, using water as a solvent. When applying this to the project, if you just sprayed the water, the washi paper would wrinkle up, so you have to find a technique to carefully control the humidity. Through reading studies on the characteristics of the paper, I was able to establish a technique. I found out the average humidity level for the country where the product was to be used, and adjusted and calculated so I could fix the paper at just the right point. By paying attention to these small details, I would be able to maintain the ideal shape of the product.