‘inside:outside’ inspiration and construction

 

The Tansa exhibition of miniature works at the Crafts Study Centre has just ended and I’ve now repacked my work ‘inside:outside’ for its journey to Japan and a new exhibition at Gallery Gallery in Kyoto from 23 April to 8 May. The piece was inspired during a textile research visit to Japan by the atmosphere of contemplation in many temples and gardens. It also reflects the Japanese sensibility of ‘shin gyo so’ which can broadly be expressed as the juxtaposition of the realistic, the impressionistic and the abstract. This little sculpture reflects the abstract aspect of the theme and is a representation of a corner of a temple roof. It is constructed from a flat piece of bobbin lace manipulated to form the three-dimensional shape. This method of construction aims to suggest that the inside and the outside of these areas of peace are indistinguishable and interdependent. The image shows the flat lace and the final manipulated construction.

Some miniature cubes in the Tansa exhibition

These four miniature textile pieces in the Tansa exhibition are all based on a cube form and like all the pieces in the exhibition were inspired by a research trip to Japan. ‘Beyond blue’ by Janice Gunner www.janicegunner.co.uk is inspired particularly by Indigo Blue. Janice combines vintage and contemporary shibori, which we saw in Arimatsu, with her own interpretations, to pay tribute to the textile heritage of Japan. The inclusion of gold Mizuhiki cord in the work references the gold leaf artisans of Kanazawa.

Noriko Matsumoto’s ‘Organic cube’ is the result of a collaboration with an organic cotton company that aims at zero waste. Noriko aims to represent our co-existence and co-prosperity with the ichimatu, which is an auspicious pattern in Japan @norikoweaver.

‘Beyond duality’ by Peta Jacobs www.petajacobs.com was inspired by two illuminated experiences from the research trip. First the flood-lit Yukuzuri rope structures that protect the trees in the Kenrokuen Garden in Kanasawa and second the immersive interactive Borderless exhibition by team-Lab which reconfigured experiences of space, time and light.

‘Apollo’ by Yasuko Fujino @y.f.weaving is named for the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing but expresses a desire to create something tangible from the ineffable. Yasuko says that the starting point of the work is a need ‘to create something in front of me that is not already here, and make it real’.

There’s still time to see the exhibition ‘Tansa – Japanese threads of influence’ which runs until 26 March at the Crafts Study Centre, Farnham, and then travels to Gallery Gallery in Kyoto. 

Back in the studio

 It’s good to be back in the studio after the Christmas break making lace plans for the new year. I’m very pleased to have work in the current Tansa miniatures exhibition which is currently showing at the Crafts Study Centre in Farnham until 26 March. I will also have some larger pieces of lace in the complementary exhibition at South Hill Park in Bracknell from 26 February until 3 April. The work at both venues is the result of a research visit by UCA textile researchers to Japan in 2019, following which we and some of the Japanese artists we visited encapsulated our responses to the trip in textiles. I feel especially lucky to be able to show some work in the current pandemic when so many venues are closed. The miniature works are also travelling to Japan in April to be exhibited at Gallery Gallery in Kyoto which is also a great honour. As well as the Japanese themed pieces I’m also still working on my unhomely doily series hoping to produce a group of them for exhibiting. I’ve published a couple of papers in Textile the journal of cloth and culture this year, one on the lace designer Amy Atkin (the image above shows a detail of my textile response to that work) and another on textile responses to domestic trauma. I’m currently writing a chapter for a textile book on Belgian war lace and have started the research for another paper on the work of Harry Cross who designed beautiful machine lace curtains and the famous Battle of Britain lace panel. I like to have a mixture of practice and writing so I’m looking forward to the new year and getting back to work.