iris Aesthetics : Wabi Sabi

In traditional Japanese aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi 侘寂 is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes describes as, "one of beauty that is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete." It is a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence: 三法印 sanbōin - impermanence, 無常 mujō - suffering, and 苦 ku, or 空 kū, - an emptiness or absence of self-nature.

Characteristics of the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

Wabi-Sabi roots lie in Zen Buddhism and are said to have been brought from China to Japan by the Japanese Buddhist priest Myōan Eisai or Yōsai Zenji (tea master Eisai). Once Yōsai Zenji is gone, large tea rooms appear, and tea practitioners proved their wealth and status through their collections of elegant Chinese-style tea utensils. Then, along came Murata Jukō, or Murata Shukō, an influential tea master who also happened to be a Zen monk. In a radical fashion of departure, Jukō began using understated, locally produced utensils during his tea gatherings. Jukō's successor, Takeno Jōō, was even more critical of men whose zeal for rare utensils was their motivation for hosting tea gatherings.

It was Jōō's disciple, Sen no Rikyū, who widely pairs with establishing the quiet, simple ceremony. According to Japanese legend, a young man named Sen no Rikyū sought to learn the elaborate set of customs known as the way of tea.

He went to teas master Takeno Jōō, who tested the younger man by asking him to tend the garden. Rikyū cleaned the debris and raked the ground until it was perfect. Then, he scrutinized the immaculate garden. Before presenting this work to his master, he shook a cherry blossom tree, causing a few flowers to spill randomly onto the ground. To this day, Japanese revere Rikyū as one who understood to his very core the deep cultural thread known as Wabi-Sabi.

The cherry petals scattered mirrored the asymmetry of the real natural world. There is a sense of eerie that arises from perfection. The subtle disruption to the perfection of a well attended to garden appeals to the gaze. It creates a focal point - like a scar or beauty mark. Disorder coexisting with cleanliness.

Emerging in the 14th century as a reaction to the prevailing aesthetic of lavishness and ornamentation, Wabi-Sabi is the art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in earthiness, revering authenticity above all. Broadly, it is everything that today's sleek, mass-produced, technology-saturated culture is not.

The influence of this aesthetic is subtle but strongly prevalent in theflower iris and its curation. Influencing the textures and patterns that are used for the pieces. The end goal is never perfection. This shows in the intentional choices made when leaving certain pieces raw edged or free handing the pleats of our skirts to keep them as cousins rather than twins.

"...the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of traditional Japanese beauty and it occupies roughly the same position in the Japanese pantheon of aesthetic values as do the Greek ideals of beauty and perfection in the far West. Wabi- Sabi can, in its fullest expression, be a way of life. At the very least, it is a particular type of beauty." Leonard Koren 

"..if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be Wabi-Sabi." Andrew Juniper 

"Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect." - Richard Powell

The words Wabi and Sabi do not translate easily. Wabi stems from the root wa, which refers to harmony, peace, and balance. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, remote from society. Sabi means "the bloom of time." It connotes natural progression - tarnish, hoariness, rust- chill, lean or withered. It is the understanding that beauty is fleeting. True Sabi cannot be acquired; it is a gift from time. Around the 14th century, these meanings began to change, taking on more positive connotations. Wabi now connotes rustic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects, or understated elegance. It can also refers to anomalies arising from the process of construction, which add uniqueness to the object. Sabi is beauty or serenity that comes with age. The life of an object and its impermanence are evidenced in its patina and wear.

In one sense, Wabi-Sabi is a training whereby the student of Wabi-Sabi learns to find the most basic, natural objects interesting, fascinating and beautiful. Fading autumn leaves would be an example.

Wabi-Sabi can change our perception of the world. Materials such as bare wood, paper and fabric that age are more interesting as they exhibit changes that can one observes over time. It understands the tender, raw beauty of a grey December landscape and the haunting elegance of an abandoned building or shed. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time and weather and use leave behind.

To discover Wabi-Sabi is to see the singular beauty in something that may at first look decrepit and ugly. It reminds us that we are all transient beings in the planet - that our bodies, as well as the material world around us, are in the process of returning to dust. It takes a quiet mind to appreciate muted beauty. It takes courage not to fear boredom. Wabi-Sabi depends on the ability to slow down and shift the balance from doing to being. Appreciate rather than perfect. 

Wabi-Sabi is not a decorating "style" but rather a mindset. Stripped down to its barest essence, Wabi-Sabi is the Japanese art of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It is underplayed and modest, the kind of quiet, undeclared beauty that waits patiently for discovery.

 Monochromatic prints make a prevalent appearance in this collection. As the brand has aged in its development stage, there has been a shift in its aesthetics. While still madly in love with floral prints, there is a new emerging preference. Moving away from visual prints, the discovery of textural prints have added a subtle beauty in the mix of curated pieces. 

Visually easier on the eyes, these textural prints almost serve as little hidden gems. Adding a hint of intimacy, the textures bring people close for a closer view. 

References:

Koren, Leonard (1994). Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers. Stone Bridge Press.

Juniper, Andrew (2003). Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence. Tuttle Publishing