We are pleased to announce the new arrivals of Elein Fleiss’s Photographic works and Booklet at COSMIC WONDER Online Shop.
The three women I photographed are friends who live in the same village and surroundings as me. But like me, they also came from elsewhere. I had a vision of women dressed in off-white wool garments and walking in winter landscapes. I started from there. Everything else―post-industrial landscapes, nuclear power plants, and even makeup―came by chance and coincidentally changed the direction of my project. When I say “came by chance,” I mean I decided to let the unexpected come in, which somehow made sense to me. – Elein Fleiss
We held the Elein Fleiss “L’Hiver” exhibition at Vacant/Centre (Tokyo) and Elbereth (Kyoto) in the fall of 2024. To coincide with these exhibitions, her photograph works and a booklet entitled L’Hiver was published. Her photographs overlap the impression of the post-industrial revolution with scenes of her friends living in the village around her and surrounded by nature. The photographs are inkjet printed on bamboo paper. A booklet interweaves selections from the past two decades of her diary writing along with her photographic works. The cover is a two-color Risograph print.
Elein co-founded the magazine Purple, which she edited from the 1990s through the early 2000s, followed by Purple Journal from 2003 to 2007. Currently living in a village with medieval atmosphere in the southwest of France, she continues her engagement with writing and photography.
We are pleased to announce ofthe introduce “Outerwear for a beautiful winter” at COSMIC WONDER Online Shop.
Shetland sheep dolman sleeve coat, native to the Shetland Islands of Scotland, are nurtured in a harsh environment, resulting in a wool with a rustic look, soft touch, and great warmth. Shetland wool is slowly spun on an 18th century English-style spinning machine developed in the earlyIndustrial Revolution, and then woven into a herringbone pattern on shuttle looms powered by hand weaving principles.
Silk wool dolman sleeve coat with a beautiful arabesque pattern in jacquard weave with Tango Chirimen from the Tango Peninsula. Also available from the Previous collection are a folk vest and a sacred geometrical patterned haori coat.
We are pleased to announce the new arrivals of “THAT OLD MAGIC” A|W collection at COSMIC WONDER Online Shop.
The yarn is made from Peruvian superfine alpaca using a special method of spinning it into loops on a special spinning machine called a trispin loop. Loose twisting of the yarn brings out the softness and lightness of fine alpaca, as well as the slippery feel and luster unique to alpaca. The collection includes a folk collar cardigan, a sweater, a vest dress.The Previus collection also be restocking Tasmanian wool cardigans, sweaters, knit pants, and other knitwear to keep you warm in the coming winter days.
We are pleased to announce our new collection presentation at Elbereth, Kyoto.
A dolman sleeveless coat with shawl made ofSilk wool with a beautiful arabesque pattern in jacquard weave with Tango Chirimen from the Tango Peninsula. Glen check gathered shirt and shirtdress made of a combination of merino wool, linen, and cotton. Cotton yarns are slowly spun on an 18th century English-style spinning machine developed in the early days of the Industrial Revolution. Shetland wool dolman-sleeved coat made of Shetland sheep, native to the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Cashmere silk knitwear made of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is renowned for its excellent cashmere. This fine white cashmere is spun and dyed in Japan and blended with silk spun from white cashmere from Inner Mongolia. A alpaca loop knit folk collar cardigan and sweater made from Peruvian superfine alpaca using a special method of spinning it into loops on a special spinning machine called a trispin loop. Elein Fleiss “L’Hiver / Diana, Flore” exhibition can also be viewed in the same exhibition.
We are pleased to present Elein Fleiss’s exhibition “L’Hiver / Diana, Flore” at Elbereth, Kyoto.
Elein co-founded the magazine Purple, which she edited from the 1990s through the early 2000s, followed by Purple Journal from 2003 to 2007. Currently living in a country town in the southwest of France, she continues her engagement with writing and photography. For these exhibitions in Tokyo and Kyoto, she will showcase a new body of work, a combination of photographs and vintage clothing. To coincide with these exhibitions, a booklet entitled L’Hiver will be published. L’Hiver interweaves selections from the past two decades of her diary writing along with her photographic works. COSMIC WONDER’s “THAT OLD MAGIC” Autumn / Winter collection can also be viewed in the same exhibition.
Elein Fleiss was born in April 1968 in Boulogne-Billancourt. She now lives in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val after leaving Paris fifteen years ago. Since 1989 she has been organizing exhibitions, publishing magazines, directing super-8 films, taking lots of photographs, writing texts and picking wild herbs and flowers. Her photographs have been published in various magazines, in two books (One Star Press, Poetry of Sex and Adachi Press), and have been exhibited in Japan as well as Europe.
AAWAA,the founder of COSMIC WONDER a contemporary artist and ,is pleased to present a new work at Kyotango, Kyoto.
TAIZA Residence, which will open this fall, will feature a new spatial work by AAWAA using Taiza’s soil, and SEI TAIZA will feature a spatial work by AAWAA.
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Exhibition period:
October 25 – November 17, 2024
Open 11am – 4pm *Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Venues:
TAIZA Residence
3332-2, Taiza, Tango-cho, Kyotango, Kyoto
SEI TAIZA
3329, Taiza, Tango-cho, Kyotango, Kyoto
Organizers:
TOMORROW, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Supports:
Kyotango City, Kyotango City Board of Education, Kyoto by the Sea DMO
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is renowned for its excellent cashmere. This fine white cashmere is spun and dyed in Japan and blended with silk. The wholegarment knitting process provides excellent comfort. Cashmere silk can be worn in all seasons. The collection includes a sweater, a sweater dress, and tenugui.
Shetland sheep, native to the Shetland Islands of Scotland, are nurtured in a harsh environment, resulting in a wool with a rustic look, soft touch, and great warmth. Shetland wool is slowly spun on an 18th century English-style spinning machine developed in the early Industrial Revolution, and then woven into a herringbone pattern on shuttle looms powered by hand weaving principles.
We are pleased to announce the new arrivals of “THAT OLD MAGIC” A|W collection on Saturday, September 7 at Center for COSMIC WONDER.
Shetland sheep, native to the Shetland Islands of Scotland, are nurtured in a harsh environment, resulting in a wool with a rustic look, soft touch, and great warmth. Shetland wool is slowly spun on an 18th century English-style spinning machine developed in the early Industrial Revolution, and then woven into a herringbone pattern on shuttle looms powered by hand weaving principles.
The collection includes a dolman sleeve coat and vest, winter folk pants, and a tasuki sash bag.
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is renowned for its excellent cashmere. This fine white cashmere is spun and dyed in Japan and blended with silk. The wholegarment knitting process provides excellent comfort. Cashmere silk can be worn in all seasons. The collection includes a sweater, a sweater dress, and tenugui.
Also featured will be a selection of Light & Will’s hand basket and picnic basket made of Wild grapevine, hand basket made of Japanese wingnut tree and a variety of beautiful handcrafted baskets.
The “Tea wheel” was created to bring the world of tea outdoors. My solo exhibition at the Center for COSMIC WONDER began with an exhibition of the tea wheel. Later, as I began to develop the tools of the “tea place”, I turned my attention to the “human use of plants” with a focus on tea. I began to make tea from the leaves or stems of plants other than the tea tree, wild plant tea, medicinal herb tea, mountain tea, bancha, and the teas of ethnic minorities. From drying, rubbing, and frying plants to roasting, baking, frying, steaming, fermenting, boiling, and mixing, I have studied these processes and have developed containers, utensils and tools for feeling, experimenting, and playing with the power of plants. You could say that these are playful tea utensils. In addition to receiving the power of plants through the mouth, we can also receive it through our eyes, ears, nose, and skin. Please enjoy working with these tools, from earthenware bottles to pots and utensils for roasting and boiling tea, distilling vessels, and wood-fired kilns.
Takashi Ichikawa
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We are pleased to present Takashi Ichikawa’s exhibition, “Tools for an Imaginary People: The Liberation of Tea”, at the Center for COSMIC WONDER. This exhibition, the eighth in a series, will bring together all of the tea utensils he has exhibited to date, as well as new works born from his experiences in Guizhou, China, where he visited this past June. Ichikawa has long been experimenting with tea and, at the same time, contemplating the concept of tea itself. On the first and second days of the exhibition, he will hold a wild-grass tea ceremony in collaboration with yasousora, an organization that promotes the infinite power of wild grass. We look forward to your visit.
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Exhibition period:
September 20 – September 24, 2024
* Fri, 20th – Sat, 21st: by appointment only and only workshop participants are allowed to visit the Center for COSMIC WONDER. (Visitors are always welcome to come to the Center for COSMIC WONDER to view the garments.)
*Numbered tickets will be distributed at the entrance of the venue from 10:30 a.m. on the day of your visit on Sunday, the 22nd. 12 people per hour will be allotted. Please note that if the number of visitors reaches the limit on the day of the workshop, admission will be denied even if you stand in line.
*From Monday, 23rd (national holiday), visitors can freely come to the Center for COSMIC WONDER without reservations. Please note that admission will be restricted during busy times.
yasousora with Takashi Ichikawa “nono tea ceremony”
This will be our first collaborative tea ceremony.
Message from yasousora
Wildflowers, full of life energy, are right under our feet.
Through light, water, and fire, we take in the wildflowers as drops of life energy.
Demonstration of the process of making sora-tea and stories about wildflowers.
Using Takashi Ichikawa’s furnace and tea utensils, each person will make a cup of nono-tea.(wildflower tea)
Message from Takashi Ichikawa
I will prepare something that I would like you to drink at this time, something that I feel is interesting. I intend to work with ethnic minority teas and various materials and utensils
Friday, September 20
noon – 1:30 pm
Friday, September 20
3 pm – 5:30 pm
Saturday, September 21
noon – 1:30 pm
Saturday, September 21
3 pm – 5:30 pm
yasousora / Gendou Sawamura and Hina Sawamura
Learning from grasses about how people and grasses can thrive together.
Based in Fukuoka, Japan, they are active in communicating the life energy of wild grasses through wild teas.
Top of photo : Lotus tea and white tea in peach blossoms floating in an earthenware lotus pond
Bottom of photo : Ichikawa roasting yasousora‘s tea in an earthenware pot
Center for COSMIC WONDER in Minami Aoyama will close its doors on September 28.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the beautiful moments we have shared with you in this space dedicated to presenting COSMIC WONDER’s activities since 2007.
Our garments will continue to be available in select shops around the world and through the COSMIC WONDER online store.
The Center for COSMIC WONDER’s schedule prior to closing includes a screening and performance of Aki Goto’s “Follower” on August 10 and the launch of a new collection of Scottish Shetland wool and cashmere silk from “THAT OLD MAGIC’s” fall/winter collection on September 7. We will also present the annual solo exhibition of Takashi Ichikawa starting September 20.
It’s been one month since I returned from Japan. For the first two weeks I was sick and depressed. Then I recovered as the fall colors finally appeared in the landscape. It was a late start. In my tiny garden there was still a red rosebud even though it was getting colder. I decided to cut it and put it in a vase. A few hours later, it was wide open. I always miss Japan but I never miss Paris. It has been sixteen years since I left. When I was young I loved Paris, its architecture, its atmosphere. When I became an adult and left my parents’ house, I got to know new neighborhoods and w…[Read more]
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Photography: Takashi Homma
