Braided Crawlies is a kinetic installation in which a colony of braids curve, bend, compress, and stretch. For each kumihimo (Japanese traditional braid), a strand that controls the change of shape is interwoven in different patterns, enabling each variant to form unique shapes when the strand is pulled. This hybrid craft work sets out to obtain expressions of materiality so as to defeat mechanical control and to create value by integrating practicality into the beauty of traditional crafts.
Bios
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Photo: Yasuaki KakehiYasuaki Kakehi
JP
Yasuaki Kakehi is an interactive media researcher and artist. After experiences at Keio University and MIT, he has been engaged in research, creation and education at the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, since 2018.
With a PhD in Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Kakehi develops interactive media that combine physical materials and phenomena with digital technology, expanding experiences through objects, the body and space. His work spans the fields of engineering, art and design, with exhibitions at SIGGRAPH, Ars Electronica Festival, YCAM, and ICC, among others.
He has received numerous awards across various fields, including an Honorable Mention at the STARTS PRIZE 2022, the Excellence Award in the Art Division of the 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival, the Best Paper Award at ACM CHI 2017, and the Young Scientist Award by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in 2014.
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Yumi Nishihara
JP
Yumi Nishihara is a researcher and media artist who playfully tinkers with crafts. She focuses on developing smart yet familiar materials that dynamically change and applies them to reinventing traditional crafts and fabrication techniques.