Hailing from rural Aomori in northern Japan, Sumire Morino grew up skiing and snowboarding. She is currently in art school studying traditional Japanese crafts. And so when Morino turned twenty, 2 years ago, she celebrated coming-of-age-day the only way she knew how: hitting the slopes in a traditional furisode kimono.
Morino is set to graduate from art school in April, and so for her graduation thesis she created several sets of snowboarding and ski gear, handcrafted from urushi lacquer. The artist began skiing as a young child, snowboarding in middle school, took an interest in art in high school and then studied traditional urushi in college. And so this artwork represents a culmination of who she is as a person.
However, the artwork is much more than just a personal statement. It’s a spotlight shined on an existential crisis, and a beacon showing a path forward. As Morino explains in her artist statement, the relevance of urushi lacquerware—and all traditional craft, for that matter—are being called into question as the world is flooded with cheap, mass-produced goods. Demand is in freefall and artisans are leaving the industry.
But urushi does have something going for it: urushi wa kakkoii — urushi is so cool, proclaims the artist. An artisan who has perfected their craft, using that skill to make something by hand is inherently cool and beautiful. We need to toss out the notion that craft is old, because its not. Just as Morino has shown us with her work, it can be new and innovative and oh so cool.
You can see more of Sumire Morino’s work on her website, and keep up with her either on Instagram.
Morino’s designs are both playful and traditional. Her lacquer red snowboard is a more pop motif featuring fried eggs made by pasting pieces of quail shell one by one.
The black board features an underwater scene of whales and orcas made from mother-of-pearl and silver.
The ski set at first glance has a traditional, classic look, with layers of silver leaf and matte lacquer, but with depictions of skiers plowing through powder snow.
