Shigeo Fukuda
– A Comet in the Design Firmament

Shigeo Fukuda is five years old – maybe six. He has the innocent eye, the spontaneous enthusiasm, the curiosity and the creativity of a child who imagines randomly and makes improbable analogies.

Shigeo Fukuda is a mirage. The power of optical illusions lies in their untranslated immediacy. They can be artificially contrived like Peppers Ghost, a Victorian stage effect of smoke and mirrors which created an appearance of reality that completely convinced audiences. They can be a natural phenomenon like the Fata Morgana. A mirage often seen in the Straits of Messina (Italy) when ships, oasis and cities are seen suspended in the sky, right-side-up or upside-down. They can also be figments of the imagination. However there are no illusions which fool us all of the time, or even most of it – because if there were they would be a reality. With Shigeo they probably are.

Shigeo Fukuda is a dreamer. The creation of illusions is not necessarily deception; it can be an expression of man’s fundamental creative principle to change the world along the lines of his dreams. Whereas it is the obligation of the scientist to correct error, it is the role of the artist to court illusion. In other words, to manipulate our perceptions to see the world in a new way.

Shigeo Fukuda is a doughnut. He uses shapes to shape other shapes. Shapes enable the eye to distinguish objects within space or areas in a pattern. They can also exist independently, in a visual vacuum as it were, like the letters on this page. Although we have the option to see the doughnut or the hole we usually settle for the doughnut. However, the bit we don’t usually look at is just as relevant as the bit we do. One cannot exist without the other.

Shigeo Fukuda may be Jules Verne. He not only travels to strange and exotic places in his mind, he also pops up in random places around the world. I’ve seen him searching through stalls in Hong Kong, rocking and rolling at the top of the CN tower in Toronto, coping with Raclette in Paris, photographing trompe-I’oeil in Florence, wearing funny hats in Toyama, lecturing without words in London. Looking, observing, absorbing and giggling with excitement everywhere.

Shigeo Fukuda is a design. He sports jumpers embroidered with bow ties and cameras. Unique shirts assembled from other shirts – collaged with sleeves, cuffs, collars, fronts and backs. He wears sartorial combinations garnered on his travels from boutiques, street markets and department stores. He probably buys his shoelaces in Tokyo.

Shigeo Fukuda is a star in the design firmament – on second thoughts maybe he’s more of a comet.

Alan Fletcher, London