Hana Fujimoto is a London based artist and textile designer. She is half Japanese and this cultural heritage plays a strong role in her identity and the work she makes. Her work is multidisciplinary and seeks to portray a personal and emotive journey through daily practice and rigorous research. Abstraction and unexpected humour are key themes in her work.

To get to know her, her work and her view better, we asked her some questions,

What is your main inspiration and how do you translate it into fashion pieces? 

My main visual inspiration is always taken from the mundane everyday life. Walking is a crucial part of my visual research. I walk everywhere and collect found items, take photographs and take notes from my stream of consciousness.

I then translate this information into abstract paintings and small sculptures, which then inform my design work. Abstraction and painting is always the key theme in my practice and my visual development holds the same importance as the final pieces.

I previously come from a fine art painting background so I always see my work as art rather than fashion; hence my final project being a collection of costumes for performance art.

Your designs are all very colourful. What is your relation to colour?

For me, colour is mood and emotion. Colours seem to trigger an emotional response from people and that is always my objective: to provoke an emotional response. I create my colour palette through rigorous primary research then meticulously create my own colours from scratch by dying all my fabrics and making print pastes from pigments.

What do you want to say throughout your designs? What is your message?

My designs are an expression of a personal and emotional journey. All I want my work to do is to convey some sort of emotion that people can connect to in their own interpretation.

Although I take my practice very seriously, humour is always present in my work because I think art should be accessible to everyone and I want people to see that it’s not always so serious and makes the world a lighter place.

What is your goal as an artist?

I enjoy exploring my potential through various mediums whether it be painting, printing, sewing or something else. Making art and being creative for me is a compulsion and an on-going journey without an end destination.

What does the future hold for you?

The future is uncertain but for now, I am training to become an art teacher and I currently work in a special needs school. I am always continuing my practice and plan to create a new body of work soon for a group show. I have yet to spend my grant from winning the MullenLowe Nova Prize, so this will fund my next project. 

Interview by Isabeau van Maastricht

www.hanafujimoto.com/