Nada Debs x INFINITI celebrate craftsmanship through 'The Makers' series

'The Makers' a video series showcased by INFINITI is a visual feast for Japanese design. The series is an amalgamation of different creators from across the globe where one can discover how each creator embraces working with new materials and techniques to redefine traditional crafts and architecture. The saga of the video series is a monthly affair, each episode will throw light upon an artisan with a deep connection to Japan and Japanese design but residing and working outside the country to bring out a cross-cultural experience.

Craftsmanship is an art form in its own unique manner and as the star of the first episode, Nada Debs has rightly said, "Craft is a meditative act. It is about bringing out what we don't see and what we feel." The first episode of the series highlights the entanglement of Japanese and Arab crafts through the works of Lebanese furniture designer Nada Debs who spent her formative years working and living in Beirut, in an Arab household in Japan. For Debs craft is a feeling that goes beyond geography, language and culture she is fascinated by the role of human hands and patterns which form the foundation of craftsmanship. She calls her approach “handmade and heartmade” as she uses geometry to tell tactile tales that touch the heart. Like a true artist, the centre of Debs world is materials and crafts, all the furniture in her house is a true manifestation of her philosophy which is to celebrate Eastern craftsmanship, with contemporary design.

Debs, the first artist for their series displays the use of Islamic geometry, the repetitive patterns of which represent infinity. She believes that geometry is like the common link that binds people together even though their identity might be a juxtaposition of different ethnicities. Furniture design for Debs is a manifestation of her search for identity which she believes is neither Arab nor Japanese but a harmonious balance of the two gives her design a feeling of ‘Zen’. Her selection of materials for 'The Makers' series is fairly unusual; examples include using debris from the devastating Lebanon explosion and creating a collection called ‘Keeping it together’ to express the idea that even damaged objects can be utilised to make something new.

Nada Debs is just one of the talented artists brought out in this series; the series strives to spotlight numerous other artists with their own styles that encourage viewers to see an artwork as more than merely an object and to experience the emotion behind it.