Collectors value her pieces not as decorative objects but as "time-based" artworks—each fold, each fading edge carries the record of the hours spent tending the vat and applying the wax. In an age of digital printing and instant gratification, Rie Tachikawa’s practice feels almost radical. She offers no bright colors, no shocking forms, no overt political messages. Instead, she offers depth —literal and metaphorical.
Her turning point came when she encountered the work of masters in Roketsu-zome . Unlike the more famous Shibori (tie-dye), which involves binding and folding, Roketsu-zome uses melted wax painted directly onto fabric as a resist. When the cloth is dipped into dye—often natural indigo—the waxed areas repel the color. The wax is then removed, leaving a pattern of stark white against deep blue. It is a direct, unforgiving process: once the wax is applied, there is no going back. rie tachikawa
“The vat is alive,” she has said in interviews. “It changes with the temperature, the humidity, even my mood. My role is not to control it, but to enter into a dialogue with it. The white that emerges is not emptiness. It is the space where the dye chose not to go.” Collectors value her pieces not as decorative objects