Author
James Darton
Contributing Editor
‘Sometimes people say my work is newfangled or strange, but I just express plant life in the way that I think is most beautiful.’
There has long been crossover between the worlds of flowers and fashion. These two distinct fields are united by their often meticulous presentations of beauty, and an inherent ephemeral quality which further enhances their allure.
Recently we have seen striking florals in the Liberty x Uniqlo collaboration and on the Comme Des Garçons Homme Plus runway. Perhaps most magnificent of all, however, was Japanese artist Azuma Makoto’s vibrant window installation at Parisian concept store, Collete.
The acclaimed artist never loses sight of the simple beauty in plant life, even while taking his stunning, flower-themed installations from the depths of the Amazonian jungle to the literal edges of space…
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Exobiotanica Art Flowers In Space 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=b4b9354a886f794a746c3ee723696c48 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=c64bafd26ab7347443f098e9c6f63c13 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=1a20c937e7bcb097a1b7de57304d1698 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=e97da6a054639d3dc1b896612941f394 400w)
How did you come to be so interested in using plants and flowers to express your ideas?
I came to Tokyo aspiring to be a musician, but I wasn’t able to make a living from music alone. So I began a part-time job, which happened to be as a middle trader at a flower market. I was obsessed with the expressions and allure that flowers display in each moment. That slowly drew me into this field.
Your EXOBIOTANICA project sent earthly plant life and flowers to the edge of space. What was the concept behind this piece?
I went to the Amazon in Brazil a few years ago and created art pieces with plants that were full of life in this dense forest, where I could hear the groaning of the earth. This was a mind-blowing experience. I felt that I was arranging the plants onto the earth.
For the EXOBIOTANICA project, one of my sources of inspiration was curiosity. I asked myself, “what would happen if I arranged plants off the planet, up in the sky?” As a concept, it was completely the opposite of what I did in Brazil. I was glad to have the opportunity to do such a thing
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Exobiotanica Art Flowers In Space 2](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=b28fcf2e7f5a95a8a333750f6fbd3115 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=cb3623aa13661d8f999070d7e7c54773 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=842cf529abe12173819590da34f7c392 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=54f28bf6e9641f6128b9cf81c2bd061f 400w)
So is there a ‘next stage’ to the EXOBIOTANICA project?
As the stage to present my works has already moved from the earth (Amazon, Brazil) to the sky (EXOBIOTANICA), I would like to try various other situations such as the bottom of the sea, a volcano, the Arctic and the Antarctic, to see what kind of expressions flowers and plants would display. I’m excited just thinking about these challenging environments!
Both EXOBIOTANICA and ‘Iced Flowers' took plants/flowers and put them in 'alien' (even hostile) environments. Despite this, the flowers still seem bursting with life. Is this something you set out to achieve, or is the aesthetic beauty of the plants a happy side effect of the ideas you are exploring?
I like to find expressions that even flowers or plants themselves have never imagined, so as to stimulate the viewer’s creativity and to pursue new possibilities. Flowers and plants in nature are already beautiful and precious, but I believe that it is my mission to heighten their value by further “planting” them into people’s minds. Sometimes people say my work is newfangled or strange, but I just express plant life in the way that I think is most beautiful.
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Iced Flowers Art 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_iced_flowers_art_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=f6e58cb932439753fa4afa66695e3bf6 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_iced_flowers_art_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=f3e28a49e9f17e69339150a7ae6cc7ce 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_iced_flowers_art_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=8ce44865d8680e122a6a30881d1fb16e 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_iced_flowers_art_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=b59faba58e6c49bf9b9d75fb6398262e 400w)
Can you tell us a little about the ‘Petal Box’ installation you created for Colette and the ideas behind it?
One of the most beautiful moments is when flowers are in full bloom, just before they die. We decided to put almost-finished blooms into bottles and capture their beauty, along with other aspects.
We will actually build a new Petal Box in Paris this weekend. It will take around six hours to set up, but before that we are making 10,000 bottles of flowers over the next four days. The original Petal Box for Colette was cubic, but this time we designed a wider shape to fit the Colette window.
Did the fact that Colette is a 'fashion' retail space, rather than a straight art gallery, have any effect on the work you created?
Sarah, one of the directors at Colette, is very creative and open to new things, and [she commissioned me to do my first] window at Colette 10 years ago. Because of this existing relationship with Sarah, it was very easy to work on this installation.
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Petalbox Colette Paris 2](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=f6ab0433a1a5e0b87ec7183dd9097c7e 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=4c73cbe91cba0a6ed526efbf0420d34d 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=6a1b8a8f500bd501bf56b5bc42e0018d 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_2.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=1d1893cbc31d5e8c4d1ce2ae0bf64292 400w)
Do you enjoy working across other creative industries, such as the fashion industry? Do you think there is something about flowers that is appealing to both art and fashion minds?
When I am commissioned to work on a project, no matter what kind of project it is, I first have meetings with the client in order to understand their ideas deeply. Then I think about how I can express the beauty that plants and flowers have, while meeting the client’s needs at the same time. I follow the same process for every project, from a small bouquet for an individual to a project with a big budget. I believe flowers are an eternal motif that spans many fields, including fashion, and has recurred throughout history.
What other upcoming projects are you working on? Do they focus on flowers as well?
We’ve opened a gallery space and will be exhibiting new works there sometimes. We are also planning many other projects and working with fashion brands such as Fendi.
I want to continue bringing out the charms that flowers and plants have; to express them and enhance their values. Also, I would like to keep creating pieces that expand the possibilities of plants, and to have many people look at them around the world.
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Petalbox Colette Paris 1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=1e683655bc7b3986ffe1f2b8eb8c96a1 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=5115ad4235550f138cab8b3f89497002 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=19fc559007683cd52251571d459d6f4c 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_petalbox_colette_paris_1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=580f662e2c24f249ffbf7c5ca4ffe06b 400w)
Do you have a favourite flower or plant?
I do not have a favourite. To me, every one of them has its own beauty and is attractive.
Do you like to give flowers as gifts? What is it about flowers that you think make them such popular gifts and such happy objects to have at home and work?
Giving flowers alone is not important; rather, the time you spend thinking
about the person who will see the arrangement and the location where it will be seen is what matters.
I think that displaying and giving flowers can certainly help us to enrich our hearts and lifestyle, even when it’s not visible. I would be delighted if more people come to appreciate flowers on a daily basis.
Find out more about Azuma Makoto.
![1 Floom Magazine Azuma Makoto Exobiotanica Art Flowers In Space Shiki1](https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_shiki1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1440&s=caacbcd8dc01abf43fb9b7eae46f6505 1440w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_shiki1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=1000&s=848f503bc66787ddad856dd7eae8447e 1000w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_shiki1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=600&s=317a64d7c618ece8bb95194d48d0a602 600w, https://floom.imgix.net/products/1_floom_magazine_azuma_makoto_exobiotanica_art_flowers_in_space_shiki1.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=65&w=400&s=a266f77c9c8e500897912e50f42127b7 400w)
(This interview was edited for clarity and length)
Photo credit: © shiinoki / AMK