2019 – on going project
I began this series of works in 2019 as I was drawn to traditional Japanese baskets woven from bamboo. I created pieces using paper threads, fine cord, and bamboo threads. What interested me particularly in this traditional Japanese craft was the impression of motion created by plaiting techniques, with threads of bamboo drawing their own lines across the baskets.
I worked with Chinese ink to create all my designs, which would be printed onto the weavings. The lines intertwine, forming a new weaving grid. Beyond lines and their movement, another point of connection with traditional bamboo weaving is its relation to time: some Japanese baskets require years of work, and push back the limits of the craftsman or artist’s patience. The question of time is also central to my practice of weaving: it is through repetition that I perfect my lines.
In my first series of works inspired by traditional Japanese weaving, I began cutting my weaves and reassembling them, as if they had been restored after being destroyed, torn. I later continued to pursue this line of research as I discovered the concept of boroboro. In Japanese, the term boroboro is used to refer to textiles that have been stitched, patched, mended, or re-woven together. The term can refer to something in tatters and carry a negative connotation: with the rise of living standards in Japan, boroboro textiles were increasingly associated with discards and devalued as a popular art.
Taking inspiration from this technique, I returned to the essence of popular weaving by creating textiles that echo the boroboro technique, sewing together pieces of fabric. I wove together fragments of linen and paper in a way that gives the impression that the different parts were stitched together. Other weaves are sown like a patchwork. I try to recreate the sense of obsoleteness and simplicity that lies at the heart of boroboro.
At the same time, I contrast this idea with the use of “veils” made of paper thread. One might think they are veils meant to conceal, but they are actually transparent, lightweight. You can see the woven pattern behind the veil. The veils are meant to convey a sense of nobility, of preciousness to a set of techniques usually associated with discards and poverty.
Exhibitions views from:
Masaomi Yasunaga & Marie Hazard, Tristan Hoare Gallery
Curated by Sonya Tamaddon
May 2024
London, UK
Japanese Bamboo Art & Marie Hazard, OV Project
September 2019
Brussels, Belgium
