Kosuke Araki

Lacquerer | Suginami City, Japan

Lacquer at the service of innovation

Kosuke studied product design in Tokyo and London
He uses food waste to create tableware and spark awareness
His Anima project was displayed in 2018 at Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin

Kosuke Araki is a designer and self-taught artisan. After his studies in product design at Tama Art University in Tokyo and the Royal College of Art in London, he decided to further build on his graduation work entitled Food Waste Ware, a conceptual tableware work speaking about food waste issues. Kosuke felt his work could evolve thanks to Japanese lacquer, a strong passion of his since his youth. Learning his craft without the support of a master lacquerer was not easy at first, but by putting time and effort into developing his skills, in 2018 Kosuke was able to open his own workshop in Suginami and his Anima project was officially displayed in Berlin.

Interview

©Kosuke Araki

In what way is your Anima project linked to the territory and innovative at the same time?: In Japanese lacquer work, there are some techniques that traditionally use food-related materials. My work reweaves this relationship in a contemporary context: it brings food waste issues back on the table in the form of tableware to serve an opportunity to reflect on them.
Do you master any specific techniques?: After only about seven years of self-taught experience, I do not think I have mastered any techniques. I feel I am in the middle stage of skill improvement. I make less mistakes than the previous day. There are still many techniques and ideas I would like to try. Every day is a day of learning.
What do you love most about your profession?: As a craftsperson, what I love is that as I practise, my skills and understanding progress. That enables me to have new ideas and execute them. As a designer, what I love is that I can propose new perspectives on things which eventually could change people’s mindsets.
What is one thing about your work that people do not usually know?: The final outcome of my works appears really simple. However, I have found that there are about 50 processes of work to finish a piece. I counted that for this occasion and I was very surprised as I did not expect that much. I also tell you one more thing: they might look heavy, but they are actually very light.

Kosuke Araki is a rising star: he began his career in 2018