Moe Nakagawa

Imperfection, failure and contingency are sometimes more attractive than perfection, while societies require us to be perfect. People who fail at something are exposed on the internet and subjected to digital lynching. In Japan, ugly-shaped foods are not sold. In addition, the spread of SNS has increased the social crisis that people feel to being forced to pretend to a ‘perfect self’ around the world. As Haemin Sunim mentioned in his book, many people strive for a perfect world.

This Wonderful Imperfect World is a project to visualise the positive side of imperfection, failure and unconsciousness, especially for teenagers to 30s who grew up with SNS culture.

This project was inspired by my backpacking memories in Europe. Compared to Japan, Europe had joyfully imperfect elements: finger scribbles on snow-covered signage, an art of advertisements poster stains on station walls, and the beautiful shape of a mattress abandoned in the street. There is strong creativity and playfulness in items that are recognised as “wrong” conditions from the usual perspective.

As a response to the social situation of perfection, the posters of this project are based on my seven-year picture logs, which have recorded mistook items/moments involving playfulness, unconsciousness, or something unpredicted. To visualise that mistakes can lead to creation, and there is the exciting possibility of accepting imperfection, fostering a sense of optimism.

The project features that elements made by experimental trials: rolling apples randomly while scanning them, pouring water on typography drawn by watercolour pen, mixing 3D modelling images and hand drawings, and more. All of them are based on an analysis of my pictures: What aspects made this picuture curious? Composition? Unusual texture? Combination unconsciously assigned by people? All analyses are evaluated to visual elements within poster and make a unique point of this project.