‘I have interest in every culture’ Japanese curator Kenya Hara on his first visit to India

‘I have interest in every culture’

Japanese curator Kenya Hara on his first visit to India

You have written about the importance of emptiness. How important is it? Emptiness is something that exists deep in our Japanese mind, and has been practiced throughout our history. It is the way of thinking and practice we have in Japanese culture. I hope my talk today can help Indian audiences to understand our culture and deepen their perception on Japanese designs in history and also on the contemporary designs we have today. How do you define your style? I think design is the awareness towards the idea behind the forms and function of subjects. Also, in the modern design, since the time of Bauhaus, design was focusing on the functionality and practicality of issues, such as colour, shape, contour lines, surfaces, technicality, and standardisation, etc. I want to play more with the sensory elements of people. Your designs are mostly rooted in Japanese culture. How do you maintain that? As a Japanese working in the field of design for decades, I think Japan should establish its position in the field only Japanese can do best. Not following the Western culture, we Japanese should express our culture and capabilities in the form that not only acceptable in foreign countries, but be able to function in cultures of every country. I don’t want to export the Japanese way, but convey the way of thinking and processing. Is this your first trip to India? What are you most looking forward to? It’s my third trip to India. My first visit was more than 30 years ago, when I was 20 years old. I was a back packer then, and travelling the world starting from Europe. I came into India from Amritsar, then went around places like Chandigarh, Agra, Delhi, Mumbai and Goa. Industrialisation progressed a lot since, but I don’t think the mentality and culture of India have changed a bit. I can still feel the atmosphere I felt decades ago. What do you have to say about Mumbai? Mumbai is the most exciting city in India, may be in the whole world. I believe a lot of people see it as a place they want to visit. The city’s vibes are a lot similar to Shanghai perhaps. Tokyo used to be the place every one wanted to visit, but that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer. Mumbai has it today.