{"id":41568,"date":"2026-09-01T10:25:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T08:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/?post_type=style&p=41568"},"modified":"2026-09-03T01:28:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T23:28:50","slug":"manami-aoki-hinoki-hidden-tresses","status":"publish","type":"style","link":"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/style\/manami-aoki-hinoki-hidden-tresses\/","title":{"rendered":"Manami Aoki: Hinoki\u2019s Hidden Tresses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hammering is the foundational gesture in the work of Manami Aoki, the youngest artist featured in the exhibition\u00a0Japon, Murmures et Mati\u00e8res\u00a0(Japan: Whispers and Materials). In her series\u00a0Hair of the Wood, she soaks pieces of\u00a0hinoki<\/em>\u00a0in water, then patiently hammers them until the compressed fibers are released. Under the repeated blows, the wood comes apart into flexible strands and begins to resemble flowing hair.<\/p>\n

A Predilection for\u00a0Hinoki<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe idea came to me in 2017, when I was a student at Hiko Mizuno College of Jewelry, during a workshop exploring accidents led by Dutch artist Beppe Kessler,\u201d Manami Aoki explains during our first meeting over coffee at a Tokyo hotel. She had noticed that the edge of her wooden mallet was beginning to fray because years of use had softened its fibers. This accidental transformation revealed the expressive possibilities of wood and led her to hinoki<\/em>, a soft, straight-grained cypress composed of long, relatively parallel fibers, free from knots or changes in direction. From then on, it became her material of choice. When Manami Aoki hammers the wood, its fibers separate and spread in a supple, even manner. She continually adjusts the resulting form.\u00a0Hinoki\u00a0<\/em>also has a lingering, subtly citrusy and woody fragrance that is highly prized. For the artist, its scent is associated with the baths she visited as a child with her grandmother.<\/p>\n

A Silent Dialogue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Manami Aoki<\/a>\u00a0 then untangles the fibers using a handcrafted brush fitted with needles before smoothing and \u201cstyling\u201d them. This combing does more than organize the form: it evokes the attentiveness involved in caring for hair. By untangling the fibers one by one, the artist enters into a silent dialogue with the wood and gradually develops an increasingly profound affection for the material: \u201cMy inner restlessness sometimes translates into the material, while a calm approach allows the fiber to open more harmoniously.\u201d At the end of this slow process, the compact wood becomes an airy, tactile, and shifting material. It reveals a previously unsuspected fragility and presence. Without directly referencing Japanese traditions, Manami Aoki\u2019s work nevertheless resonates with some of them, as hair holds an important place in Japanese visual history. During the Heian period, long, lustrous black hair was part of the ideal of feminine beauty. The same was true during the Edo period, when it was held in place by kanzashis (<\/em>elaborate combs and hairpins).<\/p>\n

As it develops a patina,\u00a0hinoki<\/em>\u00a0makes the passage of time visible: like a living being, it changes slowly, bearing on its surface the traces of all it has experienced.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Learn more about my exhibition “Japan, Stillness & Substance”<\/a> (“Japon, Murmures et Mati\u00e8res) at Sotheby’s Paris held at Sotheby\u2019s Paris from October 1\u20136, 2026, as part of Parcours Bijoux 2026, and explore Jewelry in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opening talk (registration required) on October 1, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at Sotheby\u2019s Paris, with three of the artists in attendance : Mariko Sumioka, Shinji Nakaba, Aya Iwata.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The young artist Manami Aoki highlights the fragility and poetry of hinoki, which, under repeated hammer blows, separates into supple fibers and comes to resemble flowing hair.<\/p>\n

By Sandrine Merle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40215,"template":"","tags":[2111,4757,339],"class_list":["post-41568","style","type-style","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-contemporary-jewelry","tag-exhibition-japan-the-french-jewelry-post-sothebys-paris-2026","tag-japan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nManami Aoki: Hinoki\u2019s Hidden Tresses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Manami Aoki highlights the poetry of hinoki, which, under hammer blows, separates into supple fibers and resembles flowing hair.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thefrenchjewelrypost.com\/en\/style\/manami-aoki-hinoki-hidden-tresses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manami Aoki: Hinoki\u2019s Hidden Tresses\" \/>\n<meta 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