from September 4 to September 21 2025
Ok Moku Hanga
Sébastien Desplat, with the collaboration of Fanette Mellier
As part of Paris Design Week
In residence at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto (Japan), Sébastien Desplat discovered a rare book, printed 160 years ago by the editor Unsodo, who details the Japanese wood printing process for Westerners. Page after page, the image appears there by superposition of colors, according to a methodical and poetic progression.
(Automatically translated with Google Translate)
Ok Moku Hanga offers contemporary reinterpretation, merging traditional Japanese engraving and graphic design. Fanette Mellier signs illustrations, while Sébastien Desplat has engraved, impression and scenography. The book, having the central reason a owl and its prey, questions our look at nature: Who observes who? Two versions of this work are presented: · Diurnal version: in risography, where the light model the image · Night version: in wood engraving, where the shadow shapes the vision Ok Moku Hanga is a living celebration of ancestral know-how brought up to date, which invites the public to rediscover the richness and modernity of the Japanese wood engraving. The Villa Kujoyama, with the support of the French Institute, the French Institute of Japan, the François Sommer Foundation and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation. In partnership with Espace 36 events around the installation participative workshops led by Sébastien Desplat: September 7 and 21 - 2:30 p.m. at 5.30 p.m. (free, without booking in the limit of available places) Artistic, curator and craftsman, specializing in contemporary print. Winner of the Villa Kujoyama in 2023, in 2024 he founded OK from the Paris, publishing house dedicated to printed art. He collaborates with many luxury artists and houses, and works between Paris, Sète and Kyoto. Since January 2025, he has been the winner of the Academy of Know-how of the Hermès. His singular practice of printed design oscillates between cultural command, experimentation and graphic poetry. A resident of the Villa Medici in 2012-2013, she today occupies an essential place in the landscape of contemporary graphics. Credits: 1 and 2 © OK of Paris / 3 © Camille le / 4 © Ed Alcock