"the painter goes through the land and sees what nobody else has seen
because landscape painting comes from inside and not out. It depends entirely
on who he is."
Christopher Neve.*
"As Proust said, reality lies not in the appearance of the subject but
in the extent to which it leaves an impression on the artist. In other words,
realism has to be jettisoned in the search for reality."
Christopher Neve.*
 |
| SEPTEMBER - FIRST DAY PAPER MAKING |
Mino is centred around the industry of paper
making, (in all it's manifestations).
There are at least six large paper making factories in the area. There
is also a, government funded, research facility here, solely concerned with the
technical development of paper making. There is an impressive, working, museum,
dedicated the material and method of the craft and production of paper, in all
its forms. Mino Washi Paper is (as you
probably know by now;-), is made by hand.
It's produced in small workshops, dotted around the city and mostly near
the Nagara river, (clean, naturally sourced water is essential in Washi
production). Only a handful remain, but the quality of what the crafts people
produce is world class. The 'Mino Gami', as it's known, is strong, light, clean
and very beautiful. It's uses range from
lining traditional sliding screen doors, lantern construction, business cards,
printing and art materials. There are
factories producing cardboard here too, sanitary products such as toilet paper
are produced down the road from where I'm staying. Papers' place in the
community is firmly set. This became
even clearer to me when attending a recent festival. There, I discovered a local toilet paper
factory, giving away two rolls free to anyone, and everyone, that wanted
them. As cheap as toilet paper is,
people queued for ages to get theirs, some even went to the back of the queue
to get more! It seemed a supportive gesture by the factory, not promotional or
self serving, just a continuation of tradition; giving something back.
 |
| THE NAGARA RIVER |
The residency was developed with the aim of
promoting 'Mino Gami'. Nearly three
months ago, we were shown how to make it.
The lessons were basic, but really, it's technique that counts and
practice...lots of practice. I
thoroughly enjoyed making paper, I returned on several occasions to produce
sheets that I would utilize in my process and subsequently, in my art
works. I have shunned any machine made
paper in the final exhibition. There is human energy invested in my work, the
rhythm of the body has been translated into layers of paper fibres, the
direction they have been woven together is influenced by food, mood, moisture
and temperature. The raw materials grew
in fields around Mino, were subject to possible interference from monkeys and
wild boar! The materials were boiled in a huge iron pot. The cooled, and sun-bleached, fibres were
then Washed, graded and sorted by human hands.
Human eyes spotted the 'imperfections' and removed them to produce a
pure pulp. I consider Mino Washi to be a 21st very modern material. It's sustainable, and environmentally sound
and with research, I'm certain, it could be applied in even more ways than is
already possible. I'd love to see what
industrial designers could achieve with it; what students, back in the UK, would
make of it's amazing properties, completely out of the context that I presently
find myself within.
 |
| MINO WASHI MUSEUM DVD |
Please don't misunderstand my respect for Mino
Washi as being romantic. The job of making paper can be laborious, it can be
tiring, labor intensive, (I've even heard it described as "boring" by
a resident,) but I believe it's worthwhile. In making the paper myself, I have
encountered the meditative aspects of the process. The time was amazingly reflective
and thought provoking, there were times I felt emotional, experiencing lucid
memories; I thought of people who'd been instrumental in giving me the courage
to be in Japan. I have felt physically
and mentally connected to an aspect of a culture so far away, (in terms of
geography and philosophy), from my
own.
For me personally, the
conceptual application of Washi has reflected my interest in the corporeal
nature of the human body. How our bodies
emotionally engage with a specific place and our sense of connection to an
extensive physical, (or conceptual), environment. I am concerned with how we
emotionally engage with a location and how this engagement might manifest
itself upon the surface of natural and man-made materials. Washi paper is relatively pure, it's a plant
based product. It has a skin like surface and an inherently fibrous structure.
Because it is porous, it can respond dramatically to changes in temperature and
air moisture content, (it continues to distort and change with the addition/subtraction
of these environmental factors). These
properties have proved invaluable to my process and provided a physically
defined pathway for my materialist vocabulary to 'evolve'. My work has been,
largely process driven, I have allowed accidents and effects to guide my
decision making.
 | ||||
| FIELD OF VISION - Washi Paper |
During my time on the residency, I experimented
with making direct reference to the body; for example my Akari Lantern -
"Sanctuary" utilized the outline of my own hand. The negative space, found within the central
core of the lantern, housed a dried leaf.
The image was limiting, it became too literal, too easy to read; it's
ecological message became too overt. I
have chosen to reference human physical processes and structures in a more
abstract and minimal way. This approach will allow a broader range of
interpretations from its observers. It will allow deeper engagement with the
theme of the work and will encourage projection of the viewers own experience,
particularly upon the sparse surfaces, of the washi pieces.
 |
| SCRATCH THE SURFACE Washi Paper/Spray Paint |
How the work is manufactured is always
important to me. The repetitive process
needed to produce the paper elements in "Field of Vision"
conceptually evolved out of my need for routine & for structure, (largely
due to my dyslexia and daily use of 'coping mechanisms'). It comes from my
enjoyment of running, walking and cycling - the repetitive motion of
propulsion, allowing me to meditate upon the connection with my environment and
my intimate relationship with the materials found there. The large scale of the
piece is intended to refer to my connection with the cinematic landscape, the
space contained within the boundary of the 16:9 frame. The two-dimensional
plane of a large cinema screen has never hindered my imaginary, three
dimensional, interactions with its projected subjects. For me, the cinema
screen has provided believable depth, inseparable illusion and allowed me to totally suspend my system of disbelief.
 |
This whole experience has been remarkably
worthwhile. I feel energized by my time spent here. My process has been
enhanced by my dissertation reading and its been informed by the introduction to new materials and making
techniques. I cant wait to carry on what Iv'e started back at Birmingham City University, (and in my basement!).
My life has been forever transformed by living with a
Japanese family and I have been deeply affected by the, ever changing, landscape that surrounds their home. I am forever in their debt.
*References
*Neve, C. (1990) Unquiet
Landscape. London: Faber and Faber.
Page 7 and Page 126
respectively.
Thanks w. ux
