[Title] departure
[Artist] Tetsuya Nakamura
[Date] January 1 – April 1, 2003
The first window display to express Hermès’ 2003 annual theme “The Mediterranean” is the installation of the white cruiser by artist Tetsuya Nakamura. The scene is set on a pier of a port town in the Mediterranean, where a cruiser is anchored. Behind the scene is the motif of scarves pasted onto the background.
The scarf on the front right, ” Mediterranean ports of call,” shows various cultures of the Mediterranean coast, such as mosaic patterns of Morocco, the architecture of Tunisia, and the scarabée of Egypt. The “Thera’s springtime” in the front left expresses the spring of Santorini, an island situated in the southern most tip of the Cyclades islands. Depicted throughout the window is the concept of traveling luxuriously in a shining cruiser, while discovering the expressions of the Mediterranean villages and towns.
The window is developed in two parts. Having created the “fast-looking form” through his Replica series, which continues to renew the visual speed record, Nakamura attempted this time to create “a cruiser that appears to have a lot of speed.” This solo work required nearly one month to complete, from the making of the mold and casting with FRP, to finishing with coating and polish. This cruiser appears in both the first and second parts of the installation.
The reason why Nakamura chose white for the coating of the cruiser is to emphasize the various products of Hermès. The elegant glaze is characteristic of the artist, who majored in Japanese Lacquer, giving a superior quality to the cruiser. The cleat that is used on the cruiser was also used as an objet in the small window.
Nakamura Tetsuya
Born in Chiba prefecture in 1968. Completed the graduate program of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Japanese Lacquer). Nakamura began his artistic career in 1992, and in 1998, he began the “Replica” series. In 2002, Nakamura collaborated with Suda Yoshihiro in the exhibition “Un monde rêvé de la main（The world the hand dreams）” at Maison Hermès 8th Floor Forum.