Project Director’s Journal
July 2003
All fourteen of the artists have now
begun their collaborations, and some have ended their time
spent together. This means that the July Journals will contain
entries from all the artists and we, as audience, can begin
to have some sense of the total picture. Each partnership
is evolving its own dynamic and this is apparent from the
Journals, which have reached the stage where they can provide
the visual and written narrative threads of each partnership.
This month I have been involved with
two public events together with Jeanette Appleton and Naoko
Yoshimoto. We were all delighted that both events were extremely
well attended with people travelling from all over the UK
to take part.
The first of these took place at Bankfield
Museum in Halifax where I spoke about the Project, followed
by Jeanette and Naoko who spoke in turns about their Mentoring
relationship and the outcomes.
Their presentation had been very carefully
and thoughtfully prepared, clearly demonstrating the aims
of the project through their own slow building of trust and
the respect they have developed for each other’s working
processes. A huge vote of thanks must go to the University
of Huddersfield for their generous provision of studio space,
equipment and technical assistance which has played a vital
role in the evolution of this Mentoring partnership.
Both acknowledge how important has been
the amount of time they have been able to spend working in
the same space, a space which was in fact ‘neutral’
as it belonged to neither artist. As each was also working
with unfamiliar equipment, the whole environment allowed for
changes in perspective and practice, which both have courageously
undertaken.
The second event was a day workshop at
the Japan Foundation new offices in London. The day was divided
into two halves, Naoko gave the morning workshop on photo
transfer printing
and Jeanette gave the afternoon workshop
on felt making
The theme for the day was ‘Pockets
of Memory’. Again the close working relationship which
has developed between the two artists was evident. During
Naoko’s workshop participants transferred personal imagery
onto pieces of cloth which they had brought with them and
then began to deconstruct the cloth. Jeanette than helped
the participants create felt pockets in which to place these
fragments.
As I mentioned in my June Journal, I
have the advantage (and pleasure) of watching the working
relationship between Frances Geesin and Kaori Hosozawa at
very close hand.
The processes involved require a great
deal of experimentation and sampling, therefore my short visits
on a regular basis afford me the opportunity to see and understand
the delicate movement through the many possibilities the two
are discovering.
I was also present when Kaori gave an
informal talk about her work to Emma Waters, Arts Officer
for Waverley Council, and Dave Walker and Graham Mollart,
the Heads of Art at All Hallows and Heath End, the schools
hosting the artists in residence in the autumn (see Education
page). This was an excellent chance to strengthen the links
between the various strands of the project.
We are now beginning to think seriously
about the catalogue, its format and content. Our hope is that
the catalogue will have the immediacy of the work journal,
reflecting the artists’ processes and excitement. It
must also contain images of the final outcomes and I am delighted
that the UK works will be photographed by Damian Chapman and
that the photographs of the Japanese works will be made by
Toshiharu Kawabe, who created the beautiful photographs for
the ‘Textural Space’ catalogue. All our discussions
for the catalogue, and the exhibition design, are based on
certain levels of funding and at the moment we are waiting
to hear from several funding bodies as to whether they are
able to support the project. Anyone who has been in this position
knows that it is the hardest time – knowing what needs
to be done, but holding back and watching for the post.
Lesley
Millar
Project Director THROUGH THE SURFACE
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