Cut Glass Accents

Dialogues for Japanese Edo Crystal

JaK Studio was commissioned in 2015 by the Embassy of Japan in London and Takehiro Ikeda from Seymour Powell Ltd. to design, produce and install an exhibition booth and stands in the ballroom of the embassy, to host an exhibition of Japanese cut-glass pieces named : Cut-Glass Accents, Dialogues for Japanese Edo Crystal.

The exhibition booth consists in a pentagonal box held at hip level by 5 profiled legs.

The external faces of the pentagon feature informations, images and projected footages while a curtained opening leads inside the installation where are displayed the glass pieces on a continuous shelf. A series of fibre optic cables hanging from the ceiling illuminate directly each artwork which in turn reveal the intricacy of their design by reflecting and refracting the light in multiple ways.

The inside face of the outer panels is clad in mirror so as to infinitely reflect this play of light and give a sense of depth.

To really bring out the best of the Edo Kiriko on display it was important to create an exhibition environment that allowed visitors to get up close to the objects, but at the same time to house them in an space with a strong focus on their interplay with light. We designed a waist height blacked-out booth in the shape of a hexagon – a shape closely associated with traditional Japanese culture. Visitors could walk into the booth four or five at a time. The objects on display in the booth are lit by focused beams of light, ensuring that unadulterated attention is given to the Edo Kiriko, and that each produces the best eye-catching effects with the light.

The exhibition was featured in the Evening Standard’s monthly ‘top 5 things to see’

FACTS AND FIGURES

Project:

Japan Embassy Exhibition Booth

Client:

Culture Generation Japan

Budget

Undisclosed

Status:

Completed

SCOPE OF WORK

Manufacture
Installation
Design