Hiromine Nakamura (b.1986), a fourth-generation Japanese doll maker, born and raised in Fukuoka, Japan. He attended the Tokyo University of the Arts and Music in 2011 receiving an MA in Fine Art Sculpture. In 2013 he was selected for the 60th Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition and received the Best New Artist Award. Since he has been selected for numerous national exhibitions and received prizes at many.
Hiromine Nakamura is a practitioner of the Japanese art of Ningyō who strives to bridge traditional practices with contemporary art. Figurative dolls hold an historical place in traditional Japanese craft that can be traced back to the Dogū figures of Jōmon cultures, some 10,000+ years ago. The art form reached its peak during the Edo period (1603-1868) and, since they were introduced to European and American cultures in the 19th century, they have become popular objects for collection across the world. Nakamura likes to ponder “what if a doll maker from the Edo period were to travel to the present day?” He imagines channelling such a person, aspiring to their level of skill and artistry, suggesting “my work is simultaneously my own, and yet perhaps not.” Nakamura maintains the essence of the traditional Ningyō but with a modern aesthetic, creating mixed-gender sports figures, figures enjoying leisure actives and symbolic animal characters.
Photo credit: Kentaro Ito