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On Ornament, 2023From the exhibition catalogue The Beautiful Act, Ornament as Ecological Gesture, presented in Tokyo in 2023: documenting hand-painted porcelain pieces produced with Riso Porcelain in Arita, Japan, alongside a research on the origin, meaning, and function of ornament, with an introduction by Anniina Koivu: »Not mere embellishment, but rather a means of communication and the embodiment of a culture’s worldview: if we think of symbols in this way, it sheds a different light on the idea of ornamentation. Intrinsically rooted in a specific culture, symbols also convey a sense of place. Certainly, porcelain from Arita would not be Aritaware without both the original porcelain and its hand-painted designs.«

How many things have we, in the belief of progress, dismissed as useless or obsolete. River landscapes have been ruthlessly straightened, meadows turned into monotonous wastelands and everyday objects degraded to mute servants.
Gradually, however, we are realising that we have acted short-sightedly in the pursuit of functionality and efficiency. By channelling water in straight concrete channels, its negative impacts are often intensified – and in the process, natural ecosystems are being severely damaged or destroyed. Monocultures lead to soil depletion and a loss of biodiversity: many insects like bees find neither food nor nesting opportunities and suffer massively, as many animals and plants depend on the diversity and untouched nature of their habitats. And ornaments and symbols are more than just aesthetic embellishments: they carry cultural narratives and foster a deeper connection between humans and their environment. By removing these elements from our material culture, we not only lose a part of our cultural identity, but also an important mediator that helps us understand and appreciate our living world.