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| Yoshi making a presentation at Doshisha University to user group |
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| User group from Doshisha University comprises of teachers from all departments |
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| ..... We from Sydney were attending as well ..... |
Construction from tomorrow, today the site is still at the limbo state between an old restaurant and complete non-restaurant...
We have exactly 14 calendar days from today.
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| Blu Creativity - a resort escape in the middle of the city |
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| at the presentation venue... this is Room 1 where I presented, with more public viewing |
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| This is Room 2, where other categories are presenting at the same time. I am not sure which room I would prefer ... to have more people looking or to be up close with the jury panel... |
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| cover of AR130 |
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| traditional Toraya packaging |
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| Season Special "Kaze no Kaori" 季節の羊羹 ”風の薫” it was inspired by the summer wind which brings the smell of grass in the sun and the glittering crops in the wind |
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| Season Special "Hina Goromo" 季節の羊羹 ”雛衣” |
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| It was inspired by the beautiful dresses of the ladies in the royal family, each layer is a different flavour |
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| This is a young me looking at a young Yoshi muscling with the jumbo youkan The Toraya staple: Yoru no Ume 夜の梅 |
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| Good Morning Osaka! |
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| caught train to go to work at our office at Mukonoso.... |
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| Had to get a freshly grilled Taiyaki at Mukonoso station to munch on.. the filling was red bean, it was very nice |
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| This is our office |
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| Time flies when you are having fun! Soon it was lunch time, and we had super yummy hamburger |
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| Worked some more, and it was time to go to Kyoto |
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| We wanted to have tea at Kyoto's famous Toraya before meeting with Doshisha, but didn't make it in time for last order. But we managed to spend time in the space designed by Hiroshi Naito (that was the main point anyway) ... very calming and delicate |
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| But of course I need to bring back some Toraya Youkan (sweets for tea) for the Sydney office |
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| Upon arrival at Doshisha, immediately we were served dinner (!).... Having dinner at a formal meeting (not casual meeting at dinner..), well that was a first! In case anyone is curious, it tasted as good as it looked but unfortunately we were more focused on the meeting! |
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| Meeting. I was the only "non-Japanese", one of the only 2 females present at meeting and the youngest attending.... ok it could have been a little strange but I don't think it mattered. |
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| from left to right: Chris Hardy, Alex Ritchie, Olivia Shih (me) (Facet Studio) and Yoshihito Kashiwagi (Facet Studio) |
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| close up of the right page... |
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| Cover of Indesign Issue 53 |
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| At panel discussion: from left Andrew Burns, Koichi Takada, Yoshihito Kashiwagi, Peter Stutchbury |
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| Full house at Parallel Connections when waiting for start |
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| After the panel discussion... say "cheese!" guys! |
Parallel Nippon contains 100+ large-scale photo panels of landmark designs, architectural models and video footage. The exhibition is divided into four thematic sections: Urban, Life, Culture and Living, a cross-sectional view of Japanese society. These areas represent the revolutionary, innovative and progressive architectural achievements realised not only in Japan but across the world as projects of Japanese architects. Due to the large scale of the exhibition, it will be divided and presented into two parts.With a specific focus on the decade of 1996 – 2006, Parallel Nippon is a collection of creative architectural solutions that reflect the social and cultural context of contemporary Japan. During the mid-1990s, Japan faced an economic recession. There was an escalation in urban migration, birth-rate was on the decline and an aging population was on the rise, transforming the standard family structure. This period became commonly known as Japan’s transition from the ‘bubble’ to ‘post bubble’ period. Faced with the rapidly changing landscape, a new generation of architects were forced to re-evaluate their approach to design from an ‘expanding city’ model to a ‘continuous city’ outlook. Their quest led to radical results and creative possibilities for the new era and beyond.
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| SKY MIRROR In the drizzling rain it takes on a different look to that of its normal image... taking in a piece of the sky on to our earthly realm. |
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| MY RED HOMELAND The sight of it sent cold chill down my spine. It is a 12m diameter circle of 25tons paraffin wax in bright red colour, its texture similar to that of flesh. The savageness in the rotating blade's slow motion cuts repeatedly into the sculpture, as if to cut open a wound so it would never heal... |
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| Distorted self and surrounding motion with this huge dish made of hundreds of brilliant mirror pieces |
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| S-CURVE Our perception of the world is largely determined by what we can see - apparently 90% of information comes to us through our eyes. So our perception of the world becomes unnervingly wide when we see things we are not supposedly able to see in the reflection...knowing more is not always comforting. |
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| S-CURVE Where the mirror concave and convex curves meet. The reflections merge into a point, everything seemed to come out from that point or disappear into that point, as if it is an imaginary blackhole. Our everyday becomes his work of art. |
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| WHEN I AM PREGNANT The white wall forms a soft sensuous lump, as if it is part of a living creature. This kind of softness is so extreme yet completely at one with the rest of Kapoor's work... must be magic. |
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| SKY MIRROR (REAR) I found myself looking at myself, from a Godly perspective. it is unnerving, but comforting... by knowing your own anonymity there is a sense of comfort I guess.... |