“Bamboo, you know, no matter how thin you split it, it is still very strong and powerful. I am attracted to the visual strength of its tautness and tension as well as the charm of the material, its lightness, and its moiré effect created by open plaiting works. Open work is possible because of the inner strength of this medium. It creates beautiful transparency.”
Many of Suiko’s works are flower vessels, in which the beautiful openwork technique is utilized. He does not limit his work to using only new bamboo. For example, “susudake,” a 200-year-old bamboo used in sunken hearths, is also used as a material. The deep, blackened texture of this material is quite appealing.
“The tools used for this delicate bamboo work are quite simple, and there are only a few of them that he uses. Woodworkers use many kinds of planes, but bamboo work is quite different. In my case, I mainly use one small knife, three machetes, and only hand tools to sharpen my work.”
“I think that tradition is very precious. Whether it is technology or tools, there is nothing unnecessary. Only what is necessary remains over time. I think it is wonderful what our predecessors achieved over a long period of time. I would like to make use of these 200-year-old things in contemporary design. I would like to see “movement” in the design. I want to create dynamic, rather than static, bamboo work.”
