Strange Forms: Hisano Takei

Do we wear the jewelry or does the jewelry wear us?

Hisano makes some extraordinary wearable sculptures.  I really like her work in ecru (a natural white that is sort of the base wool before coloration) as it lets the forms and shapes speak in a precolor world.  It seems that there is a bit of hyperbolic comedy, romantic forms, and a grotesque swelling that strikes a very evocative chord in her work.  The pieces that I am most drawn to, and you can see more by visiting her WEBSITE, are the ones that play with a rhythm of forms that are both appealing and disquieting. I could really see these pieces gobbling up their wearer in a strange parasitic or symbiotic love affair.

An excerpt from her Artist Statement:

I am attracted to the idea of jewelry taking different roles other than simply ornamentation. Ideas such as jewelry suggesting garment, jewelry taking over the body of the wearer, and jewelry breaking out of the traditional role of adornment are some ideas that enthrall me. The shift in scale and the use of nontraditional material in jewelry making allowed me to challenge these ideas. My work is predominantly made out of wool, and I explore forms and ideas of jewelry through texture, color, and overall composition. The softness and curves are inviting aspects of my forms; the sensuous properties of felted jewelry are uncommon and strike new challenges for the wearer and the viewer alike.