Aki Nagasaka

2025年1月21日から4月20日まで東京都世田谷区にある生活工房ギャラリーで行なわれた展覧会「PART OF THE ANIMAL　動物と人間のあいだ」で《Ethno-Remedies: Bedtime Stories ⇄ A Life’s Manual》を再構成して展示しました。

Ethno-Remedies: Bedtime Stories ⇄ A Life’s Manual

2023年
本
デザイナー長岡綾子とのコラボレーション作品

<本の素材>
箱　春日山原生林で育ち枯損した杉の木
箱のコーティング　奈良県産の蜜蝋
布　中国産の麻布
布の染料　奈良県産の黄檗
紙　奈良県産の楮
インク　奈良県産の墨、京都府産の柿渋、山形県産の紅花、奈良県産の烏梅、インド産の藍
奈良県の在来野菜の種　都祁の青大豆、白胡麻、大和当帰、大和真菜、大和唐辛子
蜂の蜜源植物の種　黄檗、桜、冬青、榛の木、菩提樹、柚子

写真：澤木亮平

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I exhibited the work Ethno-Remedies: Bedtime Stories ⇄ A Life’s Manual in the exhibition “PART OF THE ANIMAL” held at Lifestyle Design Center in Setagaya, Tokyo from January 21 to April 20, 2025.

Ethno-Remedies: Bedtime Stories ⇄ A Life’s Manual

Ethno-Remedies: Bedtime Stories ⇄ A Life’s Manual  is an art book, which was created as an outcome of the collaborative artistic research project conducted by the artist Aki Nagasaka, the designer Ryoko Nagaoka, and the CHISOU program members. We carried out the project for three years in Nara, Japan, learning the wisdom and skills from the local specialists working with more-than-human beings, such as beekeepers, farmers, and an ethnobotanist. Through encountering many local craftsmen and producers, we created the art book, using the local materials from Nara and neighbouring prefectures and their special skills. The artbook holds short stories and drawings written/drawn by the artist, which can function as bedtime stories and a life’s manual depending on the reader’s situation. It hopefully acts as a capsule encasing the wisdom and the material sample for the future generations.

<Materials used in the book>

box: fallen cedar tree from Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest
coating of the box: bee wax harvested in Nara
cloth: linen produced in China
dye of the cloth: amur cork tree bark harvested in Nara
paper: paper mulberry harvested in Nara
four inks: sumi ink-cake produced in Nara, persimmon tannin produced in Kyoto, safflower harvested in Yamagata, smoked plum produced in Nara, indigo produced in India
seeds of heirloom vegetables of Nara: blue soybean of Tsuge, white sesame, Angelica acutiloba of Yamato, napa cabbage of Yamato, chili pepper of Yamato
seeds of nectar source plants: amur cork tree, cherry tree, longstalk holly tree, alder tree, linden tree, Yuzu citron tree

Publication/Creation Date: 2023
Artist: Aki Nagasaka
Designer: Ryoko Nagaoka
Editor: Sakiko Nishio
Publisher: CHISOU
Language: Japanese
Number of Copies: Edition of 15

Photo by Ryohei Sawaki