Kairo Kusamoto's Kime Old Vase: A Testament to Time and Craftsmanship

A Silver A' Design Award Winner, Kusamoto's Vase Redefines the Value of Time and Labor

Kusamoto's inspiration for the Kime Old Vase came from the concept of time-consuming labor as an important factor in manufacturing. The vase represents the inevitable and unpredictable nature of human mortality, expressed through the luxurious consumption of time. The vase was created by breaking down an existing vase and reconstructing it using the ancient Japanese technique of Kintsugi, a method of bonding broken ceramics with gold.

The Kime Old Vase stands out for its unique properties. It does not aim to show aesthetic design, but rather, it invites the viewer to witness the traces of the author's time-consuming labor. In Japanese culture, Kime represents organic non-uniformity, and Kusamoto has used this concept to visually represent labor consuming human life. The vase was broken and reconstructed using Kintsugi, a traditional Japanese technique, to express Kime.

The vase was handcrafted using an old Chinese vase, gold powder, brass powder, lacquer, and resin. The process was time-consuming, taking several months to complete. The vase measures 217mm in width and 720mm in height. It can be used as an interior object and vase, providing a strong impression of time-consuming handcraft that is not found in mass-produced items.

The Kime Old Vase project began in October 2017 in Tokyo and was completed in January 2018. Kusamoto's work incorporates semiotics from Barthes, Heidegger's concept of time, and Bataille's concept of universal economics. The act of laborious acts or the act of taking time mean that the creator uses the time until his death for production. This production act can be said to be a gorgeous act of time using until the death of the author.

The creation of the Kime Old Vase presented several challenges, primarily the time-consuming process of breaking down the original old large vase and rebuilding it using Kintsugi. Despite these challenges, Kusamoto's dedication to his craft and his unique interpretation of time and labor resulted in a design object that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also deeply meaningful.

The Kime Old Vase is a testament to Kusamoto's commitment to his craft and his unique interpretation of time and labor. It is a design object that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also deeply meaningful. The vase was awarded Silver in the A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award in 2018, a testament to its outstanding design and innovation.