Hagino begins her sewing without preliminary sketches. She simply begins to sew, as if drawing with a crayon on paper. The lines rise and fall, turning at random and without restraint, until they form remarkable shapes. Slowly, one stitch at a time. She loves the comfort of time spent this way. If you ask what the subject of a work is, she may answer, “It’s a river,” or “It’s a flower,” depending on her whim.
She began embroidery at age 50. Residing in a facility for people with intellectual disabilities since childhood, her work there led her to the discovery of a world of free and unique expression using cloth and thread. Hagino’s art was included in a special exhibition of textile art at the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne in 2007.
© Portrait: Satoshi Takaishi & Nobuo Onishi
