From Sharne Wolff…
Presenting the work of seven Australian designers and architects, Japan: Australian Perspectives considers the influence of Japanese art and culture in Australian art and design. Curated by Mark Stiles, the work of participating architects and artists Adrian Boddy and Tony Caro (photography), Ro Cook (textiles), Tony Coote, Diane Jones and Keith Pike (architecture) and Ayako Saito (sculpture) display work that has adopted traditional Japanese principles that celebrate simplicity and the elimination of excess.
Resembling Japanese bento boxes, Boddy’s architectural and portrait images are carefully inserted into hako containers constructed from recycled cedar blinds while the Australian skiing playground of Hokkaido (described by the artist as “Japan’s Tasmania”) is recorded in Caro’s decade long photography series. Saito’s modernist sculpture and Cook’s silk and hemp textiles both draw inspiration from the Japanese use of interior and exterior space – a concept also present in Jones’ interest in screening devices and textures. Architects Coote and Pike exhibit examples of projects inspired by Japanese homes and gardens. Stiles notes in his introduction that “the exposure to the noble traditions of Japanese architecture – its truth to materials, its simplicity, respect for landscape, and brilliant use of space – has been an ongoing revelation for Australians.”
6 May until 24 May
Incinerator Gallery, Willoughby
Pic: Adrian Boddy, Tokyo Cloud Police, digital print. Courtesy the artist.
