Profile Zine #2

July 2011

Featuring: Alex Zamora, Beni Bischof, Camilla Candida Donzella, Freek Lomme, Himaa, Jason Gregory, Jules Kim, Kimberly Lloyd, Misaki Kawai, Nakako Hayashi, Philipp Schaerer, Rachel de Joode, Tereza Zelenkova, Marina Alessio, Pablo León de la Barra, Pascal Alexander, Alejandro Sticotti

Nakako Hayashi
Japanese, Artist
nakakobooks.com/

I make a magazine called  ”Here and There” which comes out once a year. Last autumn the tenth issue had come out, and I planned to celebrate the release with an event in Tokyo and in Kyoto. In that magazine I have articles by people I like a lot, people I have been following for a long time. For example, Susan Cianciolo, Elein Fleiss, Bless, Mike Mills, Takashi Homma, Cosmic Wonder, etc.. Since 1995 I have written articles for many different magazines, from various Japanese magazines and newspapers to independent international magazine like Purple. Last autumn, a collection my past writings is planned to be published as a book by the Japanese publisher “Filmart Publishing.”

—Say something about an object you love and an object you hate….
I recently bought my wallet that I like a lot. Normally, it is hard to find a wallet that you feel attached to as an object. What you can find is just normal, boring, black or brown leather thing, or something else that is out of the question: wallets from famous fashion brands or something with stupid colors and patterns. So I am happy that I could find a wallet that I love.  It is made by a Japanese boy, who studied painting at art school.  Now he paints on leather and forms it into a wallet or a bag. This is the designer website but unfortunately you can not see the image of the product —macromauro.com— Many people who see my wallet like it. / I always get in trouble when choosing mobile phones. I am not i-phone user (I am a bit of an old type). Whenever I need to select a new mobile phone from so many different designs, it is always so difficult and I capent choosing which phone I should take..

—What did you do yesterday?
Yesterday, I was working the whole day at my desk in my home. My son is coming back home at 5pm so I need to work intensely to finish my tasks before five.

—What have you been reading lately?
I read a piece of reportage written by a Japanese woman astronaut who went into space in March this year. She is not the first woman astronaut, but she is the first astronaut who is a mother, in Japan. She left her husband and her daughter at home while she was in space. Her husband, who first had a dream to work in the field relating to space projects, had to quit his company to raise their daughter and support his wife’s activities to prepare for her space trip, He also wrote a reportage book about days he was supporting her. In the book he told that he had many difficulties; he also had to take care of old parents and daughter at the same time, and he lost energy often since he left the company for his family.  Those two books made me think about many things.

—What are you wearing today?
A cotton dress with a block check pattern (pink and blue) by Cosmic Wonder Light Source, silver trousers by Bless, knitted black shoes by Bless. And I have a hat that I sewed by my self. 

—Tell us something about the place where you grew up
I grew up in a city called Hitachi. In this city there was a huge company that makes electronical products, the name of the company is the same name as the town: Hitachi. / My father worked there as an engineer.  It was quite strange place.  Most people living there were family of those who worked for this company.  They did not relate to the rural culture. In the town there was as the tallest architecture in the town and to have some cultural experiences we needed to travel far to Tokyo. It took 3 hours by train.  Most mothers were depressed since they had to live in a place that was completely new to them, no relatives, and no cultural activities.  We had mountains and sea, but not such beautiful ones. It was historically an industrial area. I think there was just the feeling of “Nothingness”

—What do you do for your health?
I tend to work sitting in front of computer for many hours, so I try to walk as much as possible in my daily life.  Except that, spending time with my son requires so much movement (chasing after him, etc.) so I do not need to do something else.

—What’s next?
Kids and babies.

—What is your concept of summer?
Sweaty, humidity, heat. Need to survive.

—Can you tell us a story that happened in a city where you been and want to return: a memory, a place, an experience, etc.?
I remember time I spent with Elein Fleiss in Paris during fashion week. We went to see some interesting fashion shows together, ate at chinese food restaurants she liked, did many things together. I had so much fun, and spent so much inspiring time. Now she does not live in Paris any more and I do not travel to Paris for fashion week. We talk over emails instead.

—END