Paisley Date Palm No. 06

Painted ceramic on wooden plinth
50 x 50 x 110 cm
2011

Tohoko Scotland 2011

TOHOKU – SCOTLAND

An exhibition of work by artists from Tohoku (Northeastern Japan) and Scotland

18 – 25th October 2011

Sculpture Court, Edinburgh College of Art

Scotland

Jacki Parry | Keith Rand | Campbell Sandilands | Bill Scott | John Taylor

Tohoku

Sato Saiko | Sawamura Sumiko | Kate Thomson | Aeneas Wilder | Yoshida Shigenobu

Foreword

Described as a thousand year event it will take years for Tohoku (Northeastern Japan) and its people to recover from the ‘Great East Japan Earthquake’ and subsequent tsunami and nuclear disaster. The dignity of the Japanese response inspired the world. This exhibition aims to continue to inspire the international community and give some inspiration back to the people of Tohoku.

We believe that art and culture are even more vital in such a time of deep shock: helping to articulate emotional, social and environmental issues that need to be dealt with in Tohoku and are relevant to everyone around the world. Art celebrates life, and can help to nurture the imagination, energy and determination to move on. This is the second in a series of exhibitions we have been voluntarily organising to support recovery in Tohoku by encouraging local artists and their communities and developing international cultural links.

Please see www.ukishima.net for more information on other projects.

For several artists from Tohoku this project has been a catalyst to make new work for the first time since the disaster. Despite incredible adversity they have made profound and beautiful work for the exhibition, which will inspire those who see it. Tohoku based artists who took part in the first exhibition “Postcards from Japan” have been able to show that catalogue to their communities in Tohoku and have told us that the project helped to uplift everyone’s spirits. We hope this catalogue will have a similar positive impact for local communities and for a wide international audience.

The Scottish artists in this exhibition took part in the Iwate Art Festival UK98 (IAF UK98) we organised in 1998 to celebrate the strong affinity between Tohoku and Scotland. IAF UK98 exhibited over 200 works by over 80 Scottish artists in 8 galleries and museums across Iwate, with 6 artists from Scotland – representing the Scottish art schools and the print, sculpture and paper workshops in Scotland – completing residences with Japanese master craftsmen. A programme of lectures and workshops helped to ensure that strong connections were made with local people. Connections made through IAF uK98 led to many other exhibitions, residences and opportunities for British and Japanese artists in both Japan and the UK (from grass roots projects to a major exhibition in the National Museum of Scotland). We are hoping this exhibition will reaffirm and refresh those connections and forge new links in order to stimulate bilateral dialogue on ways we can look to the future together.

All the artists are showing pieces that discuss issues raised by the March 11th disaster and the ongoing aftermath. There are many lessons to be learned from the Japanese experience, including the reminder that the main priorities in life are family, friends and community, and the necessity to find sustainable ways of surviving. The dialogue between the different works and cultures in this exhibition gives inspiring insight into the grace, humility, resilience, sense of responsibility and hope art can offer our progress to living in harmony with each other and our environment. Life is wonderful and fragile. Nature gives us all we require to live and we underestimate it’s need to release its pent up power at our peril. The wonderful range of work in this exhibition all celebrates life.

Kate Thomson and Hironori Katagiri, Ukishima Sculpture Studio.