Kenya Hara for tvn24.pl: I help “things happen”
Photo: Sonia Bober, National Museum in Poznań
The durability of items is a very complex issue that needs to be thought about in the context of resource circulation. Nature is based on the circulation and the circle of resource processing. We must imitate it. We should not so much make everything as durable as possible, but develop methods for returning these items to circulation after use, says Kenya Hara, one of the most outstanding Japanese designers, in an interview with tvn24.pl
Why do we throw away something we just bought? Can you design a void? And why do the Japanese love high-voltage cables so much? Kenya Hara, one of the most outstanding Japanese designers, talks about all this in an interview with Aleksander Przybylski.
An exhibition of his projects is currently underway at the National Museum in Poznań, which can be seen until the end of July.
Aleksander Przybylski: I would like to show you something. This is a wallet that I got as a gift and I’ve been using it for 15 years. It’s Japanese, and despite some signs of wear, it still serves me well. Whenever I take it out, I think about the other things I’ve bought and thrown away. Do you think we live in a disposable world? And what are the consequences?
Kenya Hara: Of course, this is a serious problem. But I don’t think there is one simple answer to this. It is good that an item such as a wallet is as durable as possible. But the real problem is with electronic devices. In the era of rapidly changing software and rapid technological evolution of such devices, making them too durable simply makes them useless in a very short time.
The durability of items is a very complex issue that needs to be thought about in the context of resource circulation. Nature is based on the circulation and the circle of resource processing. We must imitate it. We should not so much make everything as durable as possible, but develop methods for returning these items, after they have been used up, to circulation, to circulation.
The wallet you showed is a very good example of Japanese thinking about objects. There is a saying that is “Mottainai”. It means as much as “it’s a pity if it was wasted”. We have a reluctance to waste things and this is the basis of thinking in the field of Japanese design and craftsmanship as well.
Now in Poland is the time when tomatoes are tied up. In my garden, I tied them to lilac sticks that I had cut down myself. I felt that it was not only a cheaper solution than buying sticks in the supermarket, but also much more moral and, in its own way, more beautiful.
Correct. This is a very good illustration of what I was talking about. Circulation and circulation of resources are extremely important to me. Using one plant to support another plant gives us pleasure, well-being. Thinking about the future of our species, we should better master this skill not only in our gardens.
Bottles designed by Kenya HaraSonia Bober, National Museum in Poznań
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