Lucas Odahara

Odahara shared stories of his research and art-making in Fukuoka in front of his own artwork. He and the other three artists later gathered at the Community Space and gave reflections on their overall experiences in Fukuoka.

Odahara exhibited his installation work Traços.
Photo by Nagano Satoshi

With the help of installation team including Tsuda Mitsuo, Odahara constructed two gates, as well as a hanamachi (raised pathway) that extends almost 20 meters inside the Grand Studio.

On this day, Odahara visited Takano Lumber to get sheets of plywood for covering the floors in the Grand Studio. Ushijima Yoshikatsu from Ushijima Naiso (interior contractor) also joined in, and the two purchased additional wood materials.

Together with FAAM volunteer staff, Odahara worked on ironing, gluing, and cutting a large amount of washi for his installation work to be displayed in the Grand Studio.

On this day, Odahara went to Nao Tesuki Washi, a washi craft studio that handles the entire washi manufacturing process, starting from cultivation of mulberry trees, washi’s ingredient, to papermaking. After seeing the course of washi making, he also visited their gallery space, where the whole area, including floors, ceilings, and walls, is designed with washi. Later, Odahara moved to Matsuo Washi Kobo and purchased some washi papers for his work.

Odahara visited several places to conduct research focusing on washi in Yame, including Shiraki Kougei, where they make structural designs of traditional Yame lanterns, Ito Gonziro Shoten, an old lantern shop launched in 1815, and the Matsuo Washi Kobo, a washi craft studio that has more than a hundred years of history.

After experiencing handmade washi at the Yame Traditional Crafts Center, the artist visited Hana-goyomi, an antique shop, where the owner Minematsu gave him a tour in the storage and explained architectural shifts found on the doors built between Taisho and early Showa era. Later in the Gallery Ki to Te, Odahara saw a variety of works intricately crafted from washi. Many kinds of washi papers that he saw at the Matsuo Washi Kobo also left him with a big motivation. At the end of the day, Odahara went to see the exhibition of the Kyu-Kaminosho (Former Kaminosho School) Residency Program, where he met the invited artists for 2025, Ikenana and Hanada Tomohiro.

Odahara gave a talk about his previous works and experience, with references to the city of Sao Paolo, home to the world’s largest community of Japanese diaspora, and his family’s migration from Fukuoka. He mentioned that gates, torii, and stages are the primary subjects of his research in Fukuoka that he wishes to incorporate into his new work.

Visited Hakata Machiya Folk Museum, Hakataori Kogeikan, and Iki Shrine. Through by seeing folk crafts passed down to merchant families or the making-demonstration of traditional crafts, he had a better understanding in Hakata from historical and cultural perspective.

Odahara arrived in Fukuoka on January 13th and two days later he joined a meeting in Artist Cafe Fukuoka to discuss his work during the residency.