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The Japan Project

From Fishguard Arts Society/Cymdeithas Celfyddydau Abergwaun
we organised a second visit to Kyoto to take an Exhibition 'Drawn to the East, the magnetic attraction of Japan'
The FAS artists were exhibiting alongside the Arton Art Gallery's Japanese artists. All this can be seen on the
 Fishguard Arts Society website
This visit differed from the first exhibition in 2009 in that FAS artists only were exhibiting.
During our month in Japan, Myself and Glenn Ibbitson were involved in setting up reciprocal projects with Makiko Berry and Hiroshi Ueta for the 'Dialogue' Exhibition(below) in Tregwynt Mansion.
Makiko Berry is an artist based in the country to the North-West of Kyoto. Her background is in restoration work, specialising in the preservation of traditional works on washi papers. After meeting with her at the Arton Gallery in Kyoto, I suggested a collaboration using a range of media. Makiko subsequently sent  images of her figure paintings and drawings, as JPEG files by e-mail to me to adapt and incorporate them into my own work. I embedded these characters as collage elements into several paintings which act as backings to my ceramic figures of Japanese commuters.




 supported by Wales Arts International


'Train People' Stoneware



''Part of my work for this exhibition was centred on passengers
 in trains and on railway stations in Japan and take the form of
sculpted figures and paintings and film.
Much of the idea for working with the ‘people' theme comes from the the catastrophic events in Fukushima. 
  The images I have used are either engrossed in an electronic world or a ‘safe’ world protected by a flimsy medicated mask.
or in theirye-worlds; oblivious to the landscapes they are travelling across. Makiko’s images, which share their space, may be fellow travellers.
Or they may be manifestations of online activity; remote partners viewed on I-pad screens in ‘skyped’ conversations. The viewer is left to interpret these contrasts of style and ambiguities of juxtaposition.
   Makiko Berry has provided images of her ‘People’ paintings and these have been used to decorate tea bowls and appear in my film 'Train People' and in painting.
  'Dialogue'



'Train People'




Film with Makiko Berry's images

 This film was shown in the Dialogue Exhibition 




'Opening'

Ian McMorrin, Gaynor McMorrin, Glenn Ibbitson
painted Kimono and fans by Glenn Ibbitson  photo:Philip Clarke
information on Glenn's work can be seen on
smokingbrush.wordpress/2013/7/20/inspired-by-japan


tea bowls, Gaynor McMorrin		 Detail of Japanese artist Makiko Berry's images on tea bowls

Collage with 'Makiko Berrys images
A film Mochi Making in Kameoka with artist, Makiko Berry's family for the New Year celebrations can be seen by clicking here

http://youtu.be/IiHLUP5IQI0


Photo Collage with Makiko Berry's images
 A Caligraphy Workshop with Hiroshi Ueta and Nobuya in Hiroshi's studio in Kyoto.
You can see a film of Glenn Ibbitson and Nobuya by clicking here

My attempt at the waterfall!
  Faces from the Market in Kyoto on 31st December