Born 1970, Shizuoka, Japan
I was born in a town called Shizuoka in Japan. Famous for green tea, tangerine and Yamaha that produces motorcycles and musical instruments.
I started pottery at one of the FE colleges as a hobby when I came to England (I came to see my sister as she was studying photography in London).
During my first visit in England, I met a few potters and one of the potters I met suggested I go to university to continue to study pottery more seriously.
That is how I started. After the graduation from university, my friend and l were looking for a place where you can access a gas kiln.
As the colours of my pots can only be created by the fuel operated kilns, I have to be in a place where I can use gas kiln.
There are not many places in London, but luckily, the landlord of the Chocolate Factory Keith Ashley used to be a potter and had a gas kiln there.
He now has become a painter, but he has a great understanding of ceramics and created a nice environment for ceramic artists.
I have been happily working there since 2003.
There are many ceramists, jewellery designers, painters, typographers and graphic designers in the Chocolate Factory. It is a good mixture of artists: small, but a nice artists’ community.Hackney was not the safest place in London so when I moved there, things were affordable and many creative people were and are living in the area. So I loved and still love Hackney although it has changed quite a lot over the past years.
I love the ceramic materials, which can replicate the beauty of Mother Nature. I think this aesthetic is very Japanese.
I try not to control the material but let material change its shapes and colors by the environment.
I also respect the forms created by spontaneity, as it reflect my unconscious mind more.
Therefore the style of my work is very organic and natural. But not in a way you see nature in countryside as I have never lived in countryside in my life.
Some people describe it as honest work.
My inspiration comes from my daily life in relation to Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection, with the beauty of impermanence considered a holistic perfection of nature.
I used to teach pottery until 2015 but my work gets so busy and I cannot find time for regular teaching. So I occasionally teach short courses when I am asked.
I make sculptural pieces as well as domestic ware. Sculptural ones are relatively expensive, but one of the gallery sold one of those to the postman – a very unusual customer!
Akiko Hirai makes practical ware using the Japanese tradition of allowing the clay itself to show the way in which it wants to be fired. By focusing on the interaction between object and viewer, Hirai’s work allows the beholder to discover the language of the objects in their own way.
Hirai’s Moon Jars are influenced by the Korean examples of the 17th and 18th centuries. Her desire to make them has to do with their innate imperfection and balance within their environment. The imperfection of her Moon Jars is purposeful; she believes that when we see something imperfect or unfinished, our eyes try to make it into a perfect form, and as a result, our imagination is engaged.
