Machiko
Agano - August
There
was no striking event this month; summer flies past, as usual.
I’ve already begun my work for
the collaborative project with Anniken, although it has bee
going quite slowly because I couldn’t find the right
thickness of the invisible threads. There are many things
to be experimented with to find out the intensity and the
length for the future piece.
I met Lesley at my house as she was visiting
us in Kyoto, Japan. Our main concern was whether we should
create one piece together or make two different pieces. In
the end we agreed the latter approach. I still need to have
further discussion with Anniken though as to how we will proceed
towards the realisation of the idea.
Lesley told me that there are quite
a few people who have accessed the website, some of them from
South America. I was very pleased with this response.
Machiko
Agano
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Anniken
Amundsen - August
The whole of August has been spent in
Norway. The first two weeks was more or less concentrated
around preparing and hanging my solo show Invaders at Haa
Gamle Prestegard on the South-West coast of Norway. The gallery,
an old vicarage, with two large barns converted into galleries,
is situated right by the North Sea. The nature and weather
is raw and powerful. The atmosphere, both inside the galleries
and outside, gives me a mixed feeling of meditative calmness
and respect, a mixed atmosphere I often explore in my own
work.
The special light in this area of Norway
is famous for its strong presence, sharpness and ever changing
quality. The installation Mutation, consisting of clear fishing
line sculptures, is at some point during the day almost invisible
in the gallery except for its strong shadows.
The light penetrates and swallows the
work and creates an almost ghostlike atmosphere. Suddenly
the light changes again and the sculptures starts to emerge
and grow out from the walls and the room. The shadows from
the sculptures itself play an interesting and unsettling role
and creates independent pieces/drawings on the wall that have
a strong presence and will.
This constantly changing installation
has been of great inspiration to me and makes me think of
how Machiko and I can explore aspects of light and shadow
in our installation to strengthen atmospheres of ambiguity,
decisiveness and unpredictability. Our installation with few
colours, Machiko's large looped knitted lines and semitransparent
membranes mixed with my miniature woven creatures can change
dramatically both in scale and atmosphere depending on how
we take advantage of the surrounding natural and artificial
light in the various venues where the exhibition will be showed.
It is almost like making a shadow theatre, giving the piece
extra life and movement and where the audience is interacting
through moving into, around and through.
Machiko and I have a lot of thoughts
concerning the installation to discuss and consider. However,
we have not been in very regular contact during the past month
because we both have been busy with other exhibitions. I feel
we now need to get back to weekly “meetings” like
we had in Japan, but now through the internet. A lot of thoughts
and ideas run through my head when weaving/producing my part
of our collaborative piece and I am sure the same things happens
to Machiko. I write down these thoughts regularly in my journal,
for then to bring them back again as input, questions, suggestions
to Machiko, and I would appreciate the same from her on our
forthcoming regular internet meetings. Making a collaborative
piece is a very exciting and new opportunity for me and I
am eager to make the most of each other during the process,
even though we are so far apart.
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