We produce dresses made of sea debris: those you can easily pick up at the beach, such as pieces of plastic, plastic bottles, fishing nets, etc. A fashion show and its related events will be held on the beach where the sea debris was found.

 

 

 

Project Background

Doing what I love to do eventually connected to the activities of environmental cleaning and the revaitalization of my region.

My name is Kazuhiro Hakata. I am an artist creating and expressing a variety of things and based on Fukiage Town in Hioki City, Kagoshima Prefecture. I call myself a “passionist”. It is because my activities originated by the passion flowing inside of me: costume designing and making, painting pictures, creating art objects, human body expressions, composing songs, planning events, etc.
During the ten years from 2009 to 2018, I have been promoting the “FUKIAGE WONDER MAP” which implements the revaitalization of the region by art and continuing my own creative activities at the same time.
However, since the project was becoming bigger year by year, so I was unable to do my own business. Therefore, we opened the project, “FUKIAGE WONDER MAP 10” in 2018 as the final event.
Since then, I have been devoting myself to my business as an artist without being involved in the region’s activities.
I now feel something is missing, because I had been taking care of the project “FUKIAGE WONDER MAP” for ten years.
I was recently asked to produce works of art with environmental problems. So, I made some dresses made of trash we see everywhere.
Then I was attracted by the sea debris collected on FUKIAGE beach as a material of works of art. I now produce works with sea debris as my main activity.
Though I haven’t started this project with an environmental problem in mind, collecting sea debris on the beach every day naturally made me interested in ocean pollution. I then began to think about this and research the problem.
Now I can understand the environmental problems better than before. Through my creative activities, I have kept my stance as follows: I want to pick them up, I need them and it is necessary. I have not tried to solve them nor informed them to the public.
I was able to continue my activities without a lot of pressure because it was what I wanted to do. This ended up with the environmental cleaning of FUKIAGE-Beach.
A lot of people have visited the fashion show where I exhibited my artworks. It was held at FUKIAGE beach where the sea debris for the dresses was collected.
The opening of the show unexpectedly lead to the advertisement and revaitalization of FUKIAGE town. I am happy that my business had collaborated with the town again.
I would like to continue and expand it as my life work from now on.

 

 

 

The prospects for the project.

鑑賞者をプロジェクトに巻き込み、ワクワクを広げる！

Visitors and participants of the FUKIAGE-beach GOMIS collection 2019 and 2020 gave us their comments and impressions as follows: “My point of view of sea debris has changed in my mind.” “It was fun to pick up trash as I was conscious of a different understanding that it will become a material of dresses.” “I was excited to see them become beautiful dresses.”
These comments show the concept of the project. This means that we are getting success with raising people’s awareness of collecting trash on the beach.
Collecting sea debris has become attractive! I would like to continue the project of “exciting sea debris collection” so that a lot of people will know it and join us.

 

 

Exciting Sea Debris Collection!

In addition, we have been planning some projects other than the “sea debris dresses fashion show” by Kazuhiro Hakata, in which people would set a goal to join, so that a lot of them would excitingly collect trash in town and on the beach.
Here are some examples as follows: A workshop of dresses and accessories made from sea debris, a fashion show by invited public participants, a portrait exhibition of people who wear or use sea debris as fashion items, etc.
If possible, I would like to implement something where participants can share their contributions of collected sea debris on SNS on a smartphone.

 

 

 

The prospects for the project.
Things ahead of the “Exciting Sea Debris Collection”

Easy Going SDGs

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were implemented in 2015. We are supposed to be committed to achieve them, such as ocean pollution problems and the 3R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) as common global issues of humankind. However, I am afraid that talking about them loudly and forcing them to join activities would lead people to a tense atmosphere. It could backfire (be counterproductive) as well.
The activities that I have experienced: doing what you want to do happens to lead you to achieving SDGs. As a consequence, this could be unexpectedly accepted by many people. Then their activities will keep going on for longer.
These activities must be the project which I can propose to people
“We pick up sea debris because it’s fun.”
“We collect sea debris because we need it as a material to make something.”
“We choose only what we need among sea debris on the beach.”
I believe that this easygoing method of FUKIAGE-beach GOMIS collection must be the project which I can propose to many people, which in turn can aim for the compete cleaning of our environment.

 

Let’s make an attractive region and facilities with excitement together!

I think that the spreading of these activities, in which participants of the projects enjoy the exciting sea debris collection, leads to an improved attractiveness of the region and facilities with collected sea debris. We would like it if you give the fashion show and the exhibition of sea debris dresses a chance.
I would be very happy if you understand the possibility to bring excitement on our project and join the GOMIS collection together with Kazuhiro Hakata. We look forward to your participation.

 

 

 

Concept

ゴミ拾いの欲求を高める、海洋ゴミを活用して地域の魅力を高める

環境問題をテーマとして扱うと説教くさいものになりがちですが、できる限りそういったものを感じさせない作品を創作するように心がけております。ゴミから生まれた美しいドレスや面白い形を観ることで、「ゴミって素材として面白い！私もゴミを拾いたい！ゴミで何か作ってみたい！」と思っていただけるような、『ゴミ拾いの欲求を高める』をコンセプトに作品（衣装作品やショー）を創っております。また、本来は魅力を下げてしまう要因になるゴミ（不法投棄、漂流物）を魅力を高める為の素材として扱うことはマイナスをプラスにすることなので、それは地域活性の手法としても効果的と考えます。

 

 

 

Theme

Collaboration between people and the sea

海洋ゴミを素材とした作品を制作する際に私が拘っている点で、拾ってきた海洋ゴミを拾った時の状態のままで使用するというものがあります。人が着用するものなので洗浄は行いますが、切ったり割ったり着色したりはしません（連結する為に小さな穴は開けます）。これは海洋ゴミは「人と海の協働」の成果物であり、素材としての魅力が集約していると考えるからです。人が作った様々な製品が海の加工（浸食風化）によって魅力的な素材となるので、それらで構成される衣装作品にも自然と大きな魅力と力が宿ると確信しております。

 

 

Attractive as a material for marine debris, a material suitable for clothing

波の浸食や浜風による風化によって加工された海洋ゴミは独特の質感を持っています。私は海洋ゴミのことを「優しいプラスチック」と呼びます。海の力によって角やバリの取れたプラスチックゴミ（優しいプラスチック）は触り心地が良く、直接触れても肌を傷付けないので服飾向きの素材だと考えます。

 

 

Plastic is not bad

プラスチックは軽く、形状変化も自由度が高く、しかも安価。現代の人々の生活に欠かすことのできない有益な素材です。それなのにレジ袋有料化、ストロー使用の不推奨等、人はプラスチックを悪者にしようとしまが、悪いのはプラスチックではなく、それを正しく使わない事です。また、砂浜で見ることのできるプラスチックゴミは海洋ゴミの中のほんの数%と言われており、多くのプラスチックゴミは凝集体となり海底に深く沈んでいます。それを問題視する声も上がっていますが、私はそれらが長い時を経て新たな資源になる可能性もあると考えます。

 

 

 

Previous GOMIs Collection

 

2021	2020	2019

 

 

Profile

 

KAZUHIRO HAKATA

Title: Passionist.
Birth Date: May 15, 1980
Birth Place: Kagoshima
My precious one： Heimen (a pet cat)
Favorite Food: Agedashi-dofu (Fride Tofu)
Favorite Food and drink: Vodka

 

 

プロジェクト紹介

 

 

ORANGE ROOM