I have recently had the pleasure of collaborating with the Japanese touring exhibition ‘Folding Cosmos’, the brain child of furniture designer Miwako Kurashima http://foldingcosmos.org/journal-en/. As well as working on the project management with exhibition producer Karin O’sullivan to bring the show to the UK, I also created a body of work to show alongside this exhibition.
More information about the UK leg of this project can be found at the Folding Cosmos website above as well as at http://foldingcosmosbath.wordpress.com/
We were overwhelmed by the response and feedback from our visitors, some of the comments can be read here
Since living in Japan my work has been heavily influenced by it’s culture and design. For this exhibition my primary inspiration was taken from symbolism in Japanese design. I am fascinated by the depth of meaning which can be found and depicted within Japanese textiles and art; not only beautiful to look at and technically accomplished but they also have something to say.
To link with the Folding Cosmos exhibition I also took inspiration form the traditional tea ceremony and explorer Takeshiro Matsurra’s ‘One Mat Room’; two of their central themes. I exhibited two bodies of work which were connected through my interpretation of Japanese symbolic motifs; the work included:
Screen print on silk
Textile panels – These are inspired by the ‘Fukusa’ cloths used in the tea ceremony; silk fabric squares used to metaphorically cleanse and purify the utensils and are usually between 9 and 32 inches squared.
Chrysanthemum geta – detail
Wooden books and ‘geta’ shoes – These are inspired by Takeshiro Matsuura’s use of reclaimed wood pieces in the infrastructure of his one mat room. For more information on Takeshiro Matsurra’s one mat room visit the Folding Cosmos Bath website or click here to watch this short film on Vimeo
The idea that Takeshiro Matsuura’s one mat room was constructed by incorporating wooden pieces collected from places he had visited, people he had met and with significant meaning to him, really resonated with me and has taken my work in a new direction which I am excited to continue exploring.
Here are some photos and notes from the exhibition:
