AZU KIMURA

Azuki Kimura is a flower designer and artist. She creates spatial displays and photographs using plants as materials, while also producing artwork based on natural objects. Her goal is to make plants a fresh and new experience for viewers. http://azukimura.com

I want you to see the amazing transformations of plants that can only be expressed through art.

Have you always loved plants?

That's right. I originally practiced ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) for about 10 years, and during that time I thought, "It would be great if this could become my job." So I changed jobs and got a job that involved working with flowers, and that's when I started to think how interesting it was that even a single petal has different colors and patterns, and that's how I started creating my own artwork.



—You exhibited at "the Salon des Beaux Arts," an art exhibition held at the Louvre Museum's Carrousel, organized by a French art association with a 155-year history. How did that come about?

While I was exhibiting in Japan, a curator from Paris happened to visit, liked my work, and allowed me to exhibit there. I don't have much experience exhibiting overseas, so I'm not sure, but it seemed like the French people judged the quality of the artwork based on first impressions without reading the descriptions. People from various countries came to see my work, and I received an invitation from someone in China to exhibit at another gallery, but unfortunately the timing didn't work out, so I had to decline.

──How was your exhibition at "ART UP"?

This is my first time, so I'm grateful and happy. The works I exhibited weren't specifically designed with Isetan in mind, but I thought Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building was a great choice. That's because plants and flowers are things that women like, so I'm really grateful that it will give men more opportunities to see them. I'd be especially happy if people could look at them up close and really scrutinize them. I want them to appreciate the delicate details that are unique to flowers and plants, such as the patterns and colors of the petals and the veins of the leaves.



—What kind of expression would you like to create using plants in the future?

I want to show how plants change. For example, with flowers, I believe that there must be a different kind of beauty to be presented between flowers that are blooming naturally and those that have been finished as works of art. Of course, flowers that bloom naturally are the most beautiful, but if I'm going to work on them, I want to express the mysterious aspects that arise from changes in color and texture, such as petals changing to a different color or leaf veins becoming more prominent. Furthermore, I want to express not only that the color and shape of the flower itself changes, but also that the way we perceive and view flowers changes.

Next, I want to continue creating plant-based artwork imbued with vitality. — Saori Ohwada