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Wabi is amplified in recent works, showing the impact Rikyu’s reworking of culture had the expression of taste in Japan.
The Reversible Destiny Lofts in Mitaka, Tokyo by Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa, exaggerate wabi without making it entirely hidden* in scholarly mysticism. The apartment block is made up of nine separate dwellings, each consisting of four components divided by colour and shape: a cube, a sphere, and a tube, all connecting to a sunken kitchen(33). As the user moves through the rooms the sensorial effects from the acrylic surfaces echo sounds and refract hues that change depending on the shape and colour of the room (34). The ground surrounding the kitchen is undulated and bumpy - perhaps described best as like the stone steps leading up to a teahouse, or like the uneven surface of a raku bowl – and fittings such as light switches are positioned out of general reach (35). Like Taian, how one perceives the space is in constant flux, so, the body and mind must consciously rethink and rework itself to navigate the space safely (36). At first sight, due to its artificial colours, Destiny Lofts appears to contradict Taian and wabi tea utensils, and superficially fall more in line with Hideyoshi’s Golden Tea Room. However, in truth, it should not be mistaken as such as the space is more in keeping with Rikyu’s control over the body and experimental use of space. *Even though it may seem to be the case, the space – unremarkable or visually wholesome - their stringent stylisation dictated that none of these can be mistaken for accessible works of art, in that they all required levels of skill, scholarship, and money to be experienced. |
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| Hyper-extended wabi is also utilised by ceramicist Takuro Kuwata. The technicoloured clay bodies and reflective chrome mesh the synthesised Golden Tearoom and Destiny lofts, while the crawling glaze froze the disaster of an ink scroll or raku teabowl.
These works may not have been to Rikyu’s taste, but contemporary plastics, chromes, and fluorescent colours are technological equivalents to sixteenth century foreign objects, and in that there is arguably wiggle room for wabi, providing that whoever curates the objects or space embodies the correct spirit or feeling… whatever that may be.
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