Shifts in Japanese Materiality

Featured within the Sydney Design Festival program (2 to 11 March, 2018) and Art Month Sydney (throughout March), ‘Shifts in Japanese Materiality: Inspiration and Transformation in the Object Scene between Australia and Japan’, is a contemporary design exhibition showcasing the latest work from six practitioners: Julie Bartholomew, Kyoko Hashimoto, Guy Keulemans, Rui Kikuchi, Liam Mugavin , Yusuke Takemura and Bic Tieu; engaging with ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery and objects in relation to the overarching theme of intersecting Australian and Japanese material practices.

The material exploration is grounded in both theoretical research as well as cross-cultural craft design perspectives on the state of being between places with a focus on issues of sustainability, consumerism and hybrid identity. At the heart of the exhibition is the way in which a practitioner is influenced by the transnational flow of goods, as well as ideas. The works thus reflect on our global consumer culture, the life-cycle of objects and our relationships to them. The aim is to examine and deepen our understanding of the dialogue between Japanese and Australian craft/design practices and the shifts which have taken place.

From traditional clay and lacquer to consumer waste, curator and Sydney-based artist, Bic Tieu, questions the significance of utilising certain materials over others. She questioned this connection of using Japanese material and how it has influenced her practice, and pondered the conceptual ‘terrain’ between Australia and geographical regions of Japan. Thereafter a group exhibition was proposed and accepted by the Japan Foundation in collaboration with Museum and Applied Arts Sciences (MAAS). From works that transform PET bottles into underwater lifeforms or Buddhist prayer beads embedded with discarded toys, this exhibition provides a snapshot of transnational creative approaches.

The Japan Foundation
Until March 16, 2018
Sydney