Shoji, Reimagine the Japanese Room Divider

It began with a desire to explore the filtered light that shoji creates in traditional Japanese spaces. I was particularly interested in developing the new form of the washi, Japanese paper. I wanted to introduce a more organic form that would still merge with the original very rigid, structural form of the traditional design, allowing for a harmonious blend of the two. I have always felt a sense of intrigue and playfulness in shoji. It divides a space, and yet it is through this same division that the space is connected– as light filters through the screen, the spaces are linked together on both sides, joined through the connective nature of light as it fills a room. I wanted to reimagine the shoji so that it could communicate this feeling– something that not only divides, but connects. I felt that shoji (as an object) could connect not only spaces, but people, too. This play is the foundation of my work.