Naturally Artificial. Fredrik Hellberg CFVH
The kimono is worn by the Guardian of the Tower of the
Folding Stones as he performs his morning ritual. The motifs on the
kimono show the embassy from all its aspects - as the plan of the
embassy and its ornamentation unravels across the folds of the silk. The
plan seen on the rear of the kimono is drawn from the principles of
Japanese manga art and the designs of imperial villas, such as Katsura
in Kyoto - the various buildings work together to form a narrative of
spaces. The background motif on the kimono depicts Regent’s Park, where
the new embassy is located. The lining of the garment opens up to reveal
the Tower of the Folding Stones - the office of the Japanese
Ambassador, which is again revealed in plan on the back of the kimono.
Processional pathways weave across the silk, binding buildings with
manga cells and patterns with details, pulling us ever more lucidly into
new ornamental narratives. Blue Print Magazine Issue 294 September 2010 Winner of the AA’s Nicholas Pozner Prize for Best Single Drawing of the year, Hellberg’s design for a Japanese Embassy is printed on a manga-graphic kimono, which shows the building from all its aspects. Th e lining of the garment open up to reveal the Tower of the Folding Stones - the offi ce of the Japanese Ambassador - which, like the Embassy building, is revealed in plan on the back of the kimono. Th e project was displayed in Unit 13’s small funeral marble-like space, which had the theme of Th e Reformed Grammar of Ornament. While one never quite gets a sense of spatial organisation between the gorgeous surfaces, nonetheless it was the best display of intellectual and technical trajectory at the school. Graham Modlen |