Yuko fujita \ Kodama collection
12.05PM 22-9-2010
PHOEBE PORTER & STEPHANIE WILLIAMS
Melbourne is revered the world over as a hub for contemporary jewellery, harbouring a strong and diverse community. Yuko Fujita is one of the names emerging as fresh new talent in our city with the release of her current collection. Fujita’s most recent work is a collection crafted from found wooden objects such as rolling pins, coathangers and clogs into amazing pieces on a surprising scale. The juxtaposition of her distinctive metal work with natural materials such as wood, cotton and silk gives new life to the object’s discarded past.
Fujita began her career with a degree in Japanese literature in Tokyo then travelled to Australia to study jewellery. When asked why the change from crafting words, Fujita says, “I found jewellery quite similar to literature in the respect that I went from using words to tell a story to using materials and visual language instead.
“I am attracted to natural materials such as wood, silk, wool and leather. I see individual, unique character and warmth in those materials. They become more attractive to me when they are dented, stained and wonky because it gives me a feeling of their life and history.”
This philosophy of reusing and respecting the life of our useless objects was explored in Fujita’s most recent exhibition, KODAMA (return to me). “The title Kodama has double meaning in Japanese. One means “tree spirits” and the other meaning is “echo” (sound reflection).
“My process for the work in KODAMA was like communicating with these existing materials and hearing their own echo. I see the objects and they respond to me through their shape, colour and texture to bring form to each item.”
But for a woman well versed in gold and silversmithing, learning the technical aspects of woodworking was a challenge. “Most of the wooden items were crafted in the wood club I joined, the Mount Waverley Wood Workers Inc. The workshop is full of skilled and enthusiastic woodworkers of all ages.
They were very helpful and have much knowledge to pass on.”
Stephanie Williams
www.theairloom.wordpress.com
Fuijta’s current KODAMA collection is on display at e.g.etal, 167 Flinders Lane, Melbourne.
www.egetal.com.au