A fragment of tree trunk conserved in the earth for a million years; abstract photography of the dissected layers of a quarry; ceramic spheres from a factory; and a mound of raw clay. These are among items showcased in a new exhibition ‘Archeology of Mino: in collaboration with Studio Mumbai’, which casts a contemporary light on one of Japan’s most treasured materials: clay.
Curated by Swiss design director David Glaettli (creative director of Karimoku New Standard and Tajimi Custom Tiles) and Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, the exhibition (8-13 June 2021) taps into the creative potential and ‘brutal beauty’ of soil from the Mino region of Gifu Prefecture, famed for a rich ceramics heritage meandering back 1,300 years. In particular, it highlights the origins of Mino clay, an ancient material which is painstakingly mined in vast quarries cut deep into remote mountains, and has launched a thriving ceramics industry.
The debut exhibition is a springboard for the new Mino Soil brand, which will be directed by Glaettli and launched by two Mino-based companies: X’S Corporation (which is also behind Tajimi Custom Tiles) and manufacturer Izawa Corporation.
A collage of photos showing a clay quarry in Mizunami, in the Mino area. Where the quarries are today, there used to be a large prehistoric lake. The sediments on the lakebed turned into clay that today lies about 30 meters underground. When it is excavated, it comes in contact with air and light for the first time in a million years
This is the first of three exhibitions planned in Japan over the coming year, which will culminate in the launch of a new ceramics brand called Mino Soil, with interior products to be crafted in collaboration with global designers (discussions are ongoing with Studio Mumbai, Wang & Söderström, Dimitri Bähler, Max Lamb and Kwangho Lee, among others).
‘Few people know that clay is still quarried in the Mino region and even fewer people have actually been to these quarries,’ explains Glaettli. ‘They are huge and of a raw beauty that leaves a very strong and lasting impression. In the quarry, the usually hidden layers of soil beneath our feet become visible.
‘The deeper the quarry is, the older the clay that is unearthed – up to a million years old. When drinking from a ceramic mug, nobody would think that the material it is made of originated from a place like that and is actually hundreds of thousands of years old.’
