Maison Hermès window displays are developed with the concept, “Theater where Products Play the Lead.” We talked to Yasuhiro Fujiwara, the artists who raised the curtain on the 2010 series with a window christened “Legends of the Savior Hermès,” to learn about any episodes surrounding this latest window production.
Q: Please tell us about what was foremost in your mind and what challenged you the most in the planning of this window.
A: To deepen my understanding of the objectives of this window, I was encouraged to research the Hermès history. That saga is extremely profound, and it contained many hints for moving toward the vision. Taking those clues to heart, coming to mind at the planning stage was the idea of “Starting out with a vacant lot.” That is a reflection of my belief in the importance of temporarily shutting down the thoughts when creating my own works. I became deeply attuned to the question of whether I would be able to draw something out of the subject matter granted to me.
Q: In this creation, a large horse is covered with beads. While you have produced works using these types of beads in the past, what are your aims in this approach?
A: For the forms of the target subjects in producing my works, I choose entities that are fundamentally easy to recognize. For example, houses, dwarfs, mountains, churches or other simple figures discernible at a glance. My aim is then to literally smother the surfaces of such commonplace figures with foreign matter in order to generate new images.
Q: What do you feel is the greatest difference between the production of your own works of art and the creation of window displays? And what did you find interesting about the window production?
A: That there are products and themes, which is hardly surprising. Although research is required in both the creation of my own works and the production of windows, I sensed a major difference in the points of departure. Yet, due to the tremendous degree of freedom, I felt a big difference from so-called window production. What I found nice about this is the ability to display in a location open to large numbers of people. The potential for such creations to catch the eyes of persons who just happen to be passing by provides a tremendously exciting environment.
Q: In these windows, you incorporate Hermès products into you own plan. What were you thoughts when engaging in this process, which can also be described as comprising production-based collaboration?
A: I came away with a truly strong sensation that, through their collaboration, both the products and creative works generated effects beyond anything I had imagined. This differs from the process of groping about in striving to produce my own works, and instead yields a fresh new sensation of planning that involves setting your sights on the key targets with all of the conditions already in place.
Q: What were your thoughts upon viewing the completed window?
A: On the day of the setting, at the instant when all of the scattered pieces came together as one, I remember feeling like new life had come to dwell within the overall display. I had continued to repeatedly confirm the display in imagining the finished product. But when the display was actually complete and I sized it up, results far exceeding anything I had envisioned opened up before my eyes. This was certainly a moment that once again drove home the intense awareness of the sheer power of products and places.
Legend of the Savior Hermès – Yasuhiro Fujiwara