Masaya Hashimoto: Hair salon Boeuf

Artist list

Masaya Hashimoto

I believe that Europe has been exposed to much information concerning Japanese culture, traditions, art, and celebrities through the media. Rather than describe Japanese culture and art, which are already well known in Europe, I believe that for me to describe my personal route to becoming an artist will help people gain a better understanding through my exhibition of what it is that flows at the root of Japanese culture.

I was born and raised in the town of Hida Takayama, a town located in Gifu Prefecture close to the center of Japan, where 92.5% of the land is forest. Hida Takayama is a town that still retains some of the feel of Old Japan. After finishing school, I worked for several years as an assistant hairdresser at Tokyo before making numerous travels through Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America. I continued traveling for a time, and during these travels I began creating art by closely examining the feelings which were evoked in me by the people I met during my travels, the cultures I encountered in various places, my experiences living in cities and natural environments, and the various materials that I picked up in each location. I am continuing to create in a workspace located in the suburbs of Tokyo, in a corner of the grounds of a temple. One day last year, I cut my hair, which I had grown out to quite a length. I tied the hair in a bunch and brought it back with me, placing it on a shelf in my workspace next to the other materials which I work with. I felt that as time passed, the connection between myself and that hair was gradually growing weaker, and at the same time the hair was becoming a part of the outside world and developing an independent presence of its own. The faint feeling of atmosphere around the hair, which I had never noticed before cutting it from my body, and the sensations I felt when it was placed in front of me, eventually became a desire to create. In repeated tests, I tried directing this feeling towards the variety of other materials in my workspace. I encountered among these materials a water buffalo horn. As the water buffalo horn is a transformation of the skin's keratin, in its basic nature it is in fact very similar to the hair we have on our heads. This encounter with the water buffalo horn inspired me to produce a variety of pieces, and also led me to create this personal exhibition.