My preference of choosing types of clay when making white ware is the dark and coarse clay most of the time. The whiteness acts as a membrane or a veil. The hints of the true nature of the material appear slightly on the surface. Dark clay which consists of many impurities induces strong chemical changes in heat and the trace of events remains under the veil when it cools down. White, on the other hand, is more stable because of its purity. It is already settled and has a feeling of “stillness”.
Superficially my work appears to be quiet in white. It does not show the rawness of Mother Nature directly. A symbolic figure always looks more perfect than the actual person he/she is. Imagination and fantasy always reinforce the imperfection and achieve the perfection with its own originality. Therefore the completion of my work is done by the viewers. My work is a creation on its own.

2002-2003 London Institute  Central Saint Martins  School of Graphics and Industrial Design London

2000- 2002 University of Westminster Harrow (transffrred to St. Martins)

1989-1993 Aichi Gakuin University  Faculty of Letters  Department of Psychology Aichi Japan

Akiko Hirai will be having a solo show in the gallery 6-30 November 2013.