PERSPECTIVE Residence 風/Fuu
Creator: Maxime Bellaunay
Residency Manager: Sachiko Takamuro(PERSPECTIVE)
Text by Keith Spencer
Photo and Video by Keita Miwa
大地に触発され、つながる**
Maxime Bellaunay is a sculptor and woodworker from France. Currently based in Paris, Bellaunay’s practice utilizes found materials from the landscape and often pairs these natural materials with light sources. Bellaunay values collaboration in his artistic practice due to the fact that “a collaboration forces each person to push themselves to different places that they never would have gone to on their own.”
For Sachiko Takamuro, the PERSPECTIVE’s residence “風/Fuu” is a place to connect people to the natural landscape. With a focus on craftwork from nature, Takamuro investigates ways to nurture relationships with the natural world and make it sustainable for the next generation. Beyond the residency program, Takamuro is also active in initiatives to replant forests and develop sustainable Japanese lacquer production through Forest of Craft, an organization focused on enhancing an understanding of the human relationship with the natural world through craft.
フランス出身の彫刻家・木工職人であるマキシム・ベロネさん（以下、マキシムさん）は、現在パリを拠点に活動しています。彼は自然の風景から見つけた素材を活用し、これらの素材に光の要素を組み合わせた作品などを制作しています。マキシムさんは、アーティストの活動においてコラボレーションの機会をとても大切に考えています。
「コラボレーションは、自分一人では踏み出さなかったであろう領域へと自らを押し上げる力になります。」
一方、高室幸子さんにとって、レジデンスは人々と自然の風景を結びつけるための場です。人と自然の関係を育み、次世代にもその素晴らしさを伝える方法を探求しています。さらに、レジデンスプログラムの枠を超え、高室さんは「Forest of Craft」の活動を通じて、植林や持続可能な漆生産の促進など、人と自然との関係性を工芸を通して深める取り組みにも積極的に参加しています。
京北の冬：全く新しい環境**
Bellaunay and Takamuro met over a year and a half ago. In 2019, Bellaunay was working on a collaborative project in France with a lacquer craftsperson who introduced him to Takamuro. Although he had been to Japan a few times already, Bellaunay was eventually able to come and stay for three days in Keihoku. Even after his visit concluded, Bellaunay said, “Sachiko and I continued to stay in contact. I was delighted when she reached out to invite me to attend this model residency project.”
Takamuro said she knew immediately that Bellaunay would be a good match for her space. “Maxime’s name was the first one that came to mind. I was following his work on Instagram, and I felt like the environment here would be useful to his practice, and that his way of working would match our concept.” Still, she was concerned about the time of year and not being able to provide support during the entirety of his stay. “That’s why I knew it would be best to invite someone who was already familiar with the environment here in Keihoku.”
Despite his delight at being invited, Bellaunay had doubts about attending a residency in the winter. “Given my practice’s focus on nature and foraging in the landscape, my work tends to focus on activities in spring and summer when the natural environment is more alive. Coming to Keihoku in the winter, when much of the surrounding natural landscape is asleep, offered a completely different experience that stimulated my practice in unexpected ways.”