About Norihiko Kamei

Works by Norihiko Kamei
Norihiko Kamei’s works fuse Japanese aesthetics with a grand view of nature. How are these mystical and beautiful artworks, which capture grand nature in a small world, born?

Kamei, who has enjoyed ikebana and tea ceremony since his student days, commissioned Toraya, a long-established Japanese confectioner, to create original Japanese sweets for his graduation project. He says he "created a work that expressed the ephemerality of things that disappear after being eaten, using beautiful Japanese sweets." "Even back then, I had an yearning for nature and an interest in the ever-changing 'impermanence'," he said, and began creating works using fresh flowers and natural materials, seeking the themes of ephemerality and beauty.

About Preserved Flowers
The strikingly vibrant preserved flowers used in his masterpiece, "Hanayama." "I want to create a landscape that doesn't exist but seems like it could, from a bird's-eye view," he says, planting each branch of flowers into a jet-black basin. "Whether they are wildflowers blooming in the natural fields, fresh flowers from producers in the market, or specially processed preserved flowers, all flowers are simply beautiful and ephemeral," says Kamei.

"Keshiki-fu: Wind of the Scenery" depicts a landscape on a "floating stone" that fits in the palm of one's hand. The base floating stone was collected from Sakurajima, and the contrast with the preserved flowers is captivating. A faint original scent wafts from the artwork before you. "My works are worlds that seem like they could exist, but don't. What would such a world smell like? I believe the original scent adds depth to this worldview," he says, describing a mysterious work where human artifice and natural randomness coexist.

About Kita-Kamakura
“I originally lived in Tokyo, but after visiting a friend's house in Zushi, I started thinking about moving. I like Kita-Kamakura because it’s close to nature, quiet, and has a calm atmosphere. While walking in the nearby mountains, I saw brave-looking wild plants blooming and wanted to create a work from them,” he says. This led to "Tokiyama," a work that beautifully expresses the ephemerality and beauty of nameless flowers not found in the market, arranged like bonsai.

From Norihiko Kamei
"Whether they are wildflowers blooming in the natural fields, fresh flowers from producers in the market, or specially processed preserved flowers, all flowers are simply beautiful and ephemeral. I believe there is no need for extra reasons to take that beauty and, with an artistic approach, transform it into a product to incorporate into our daily lives."

Since ancient times, we have devised ways to incorporate nature into our lives through things like bonsai and tsuboniwa (small gardens). Kamei's works offer a unique sense of natural mystery as interior décor.

Works by Norihiko Kamei