Everyone feels a connection to a certain place, be it your home town, the place you went to university and started becoming who you are today or maybe the city you fell in love with someone. But what if that place is on the other side of the world and you have no direct connection to it at all?
Japan always feels like a bit of an elusive love for me. I did not grow up watching anime, had never travelled to Asia in general and hadn't even tried sushi until I was maybe 19. I do remember being on holiday in London with my parents and finding Fruits Magazine (the epic street fashion magazine founded by photographer Shoichi Aoki, exploring Harajuku's fashion subcultures) and thinking what the hell is this!
As a bit of a weird, creative teenager the total freedom and craziness of the outfits of the people in the images resonated with me. Especially since I didn't really fit in at school, the boldness of these young kids seemed so liberating. I was kinda hooked from a style perspective.
But I was here in Amsterdam and Japan seemed miles away. So I kept on wearing my crazy outfits (a period of wearing only purple clothing has unfortunately been documented) and kinda forgot about Japan. However that little seed had been planted and the feeling of wanting to escape into a different world, be it style wise or real never left. And what do weird kids that don't fit in usually do...they go to art school.
It was around the period after I finished art school and developed my own practise as a graphic designer that Japan became a clear source of inspiration. In it's minimalist design aesthetic but also the boldness of several typefaces all at once, like you are standing on the busy streets of Shibuya with a thousand signs screaming for your attention, I loved how everything seemed to clash yet flow together at the same time, a controlled chaos. So completely different from the kinda boring and clean-cut way Dutch life is designed.
And so as someone who is always looking for a bit of escapism I delved into Japanese culture, be it the food, the language or the art, and savoured it all. But above all else
I knew I wanted to go to Japan. And finally, in 2017 I went. Needless to say I loved it. And whilst there is a lot to be said about experiencing a country and culture as an outsider (and I'm aware of the privileges that gives) Japan felt like a warm bath (an actual sento?).
The architecture and city layouts, the way people behaved and the efficiency of it all. It was the most crowded yet also the most tranquil place I ever visited. And upon returning home I felt kinda 'homesick'. I was never really a fan of Dutch culture but I now craved Japan. And being the art school kid I am at heart, I decided why not draw about these experiences so I can relive them. And thus ANO Studio was born.
Funnily this led me on a path of not only drawing about Japan. But also working parttime in a yakitori restaurant and trying to study Japanese. So it became more and more enmeshed in my life. This blog of sorts will contain little stories of my love for Japan and the experiences it brings me in my work and personal life.
Hannah
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