Composition – Rules within objects

Imagination, Creation, Shapes and forms

One of the talents we human beings have is the capability of imagination.
Once creativity is applied to this imagination, a shape or form comes to life.

We as visitors to this exhibition, together with its creators, will experience thoughts about objects and their creation in this particular time and space. This experience will give us an opportunity to renew our potential for inner creativity.
In the artist’s world, an “instruction sheet” means a set of assembly instructions which are filled with “matter”, far from its original intended use for MUJI products that are developed, manufactured and sold in the stores.
If we make an artwork from some “things” or products by following the artist’s instructions as rules, the resulting shape or form may vary from person to person.

When imagination meets creation, resulting in a certain shape or form, we may be able to encounter a brand-new side of ourselves through these objects.

ATELIER MUJI

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What we call “creating”

I create something, a so-called “work of art”. So, what is a “work of art” in this context? It gives me trouble to answer this question. In my particular case, the elements of my works are products borrowed from everyday life. My work is done by making compositions with these products, or rearranging them, which is why it isn’t easy to answer this question. If I am trying very hard, I might be able to say that “I create (or try to create) “creating””. Or, in other words, I might be “experimenting to observe things”.

I always keep an instruction sheet (assembly instructions) after finishing each piece of artwork. The most important thing for me in the creating process is not the final “thing” - the object in front of me - but rather the “matter” - the human creativity and ingenuity that have been put into the process. It would be fantastic if we could feel that from the colours and forms of the work, its textures, qualities and atmosphere. On the instruction sheet, I set out my desire in the artwork-making process.

In this exhibition space, I show you both the work of art (thing) and the instruction sheet (matter) together. I expect that you will be able to understand our casual interaction or relationship with objects by looking at the works displayed here. We nurture our objects casually, and make the most of them in our own little way. That is my answer to what we call “creating”.

Motohiro Tomii