Spirit of the Rice
BY YURIA ROEBKE
This design tells the story of how rice crops in Japan are being deeply affected by climate change and how this is not only an issue of rice shortage but also an issue of cultural impact to Japanese people. Inspired by terrace rice fields, the design mimics their shapes and incorporates rice stalk ropes made using traditional techniques. The ropes were made from scratch, first by pounding the stalks to create flexibility, then taking them in bunches and rolling two halves of a bunch together between palms, feeding in more stalks as needed for length.
The terrace tops are made of layered pieces of cardboard boxes for stability and on top are fabric scraps in shades of green, blue, and yellow to reflect the changing colors of the fields through the seasons. To create the illusion of rice growing, the ends of the stalks, unnecessary to make the rope, also stand on the terraces. The top and shorts are made of bamboo mats. The shorts reflect traditional Japanese farming pants in their silhouette while the top has green rice stalks embroidered onto it showing rice in the growing process. The hat is made of rice bags and an old paper lantern. The rice bags show the commercial aspect of rice and the reality of people consuming it in their daily lives. Ends of rice stalks hang down from the edges, slightly obscuring the face, creating mystery around the person wearing it, implying the universality of this issue.
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES AND FEARS AS A YOUNG PERSON IN A TIME OF ECOLOGICAL CRISIS?
My fear with the ecological crisis is that our future as a planet and as a human society will shorten, and that the same technological advancement brought us to this point will be our downfall. I am especially concerned with the effects on our food and water, the two things we most need on a biological level to survive. The emergence and popularization of generative AI along with the myriad of other polluting practices that we have been doing since far before then are fully to blame for this dark reality of our planet. To minimize my impact, I do not use any generative AI due to it causing shortages of water and chemical contamination. I try to limit the amount of plastic waste I put out by minimizing online shopping and using reusable bags when needed. I also use many secondhand materials in my art. But individuals can only do so much on their own. Policy makers must start to take our future seriously while making solid plans and laws that will limit AI, cut back on CO2 emissions, and at the very least fix the damage that we place on the Global South through landfills full with the byproducts of the consumption the rest of the world engages in. Through my art, I spread the message of how we have to think of our impact and take it seriously not only for ourselves but for society and the preservation of what makes us human and keeps us alive. My hope is that my ideas can reach people and spread through fashion, the art form that all of us engage with every day, no matter what.