3rd European textile and Fibre Art Festival - Catalogue

MICHIKO KAWARABAYASHI
Japan / Japåna
Born 1942
14-1, Higashiura-Cho, Misasagi, Daigo, Fushimi-Ku, Kyoto
601-1313 Japan
Education
1963–1965 International Design
Institute in Kyoto, Japan
Selected exhibitions
Collaborating textile artists
from Britain and Japan,
National Museum of
Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
“Through the Surface”
Japanese and British artists
on tour, UK
4 th International Textile
Exhibition, Kaunas,
Lithuania
1 st International Triennial
for Minitextiles,
Szombathely, Hungary
International Biennial of
Miniature Textile,
Szombathely, Hungary
”Fibre Art Today”
exhibitions at Shijo Gallery,
Kyoto, Japan
Awards
Prize, Tokyo Textile Design
Competition, Tokyo, Japan
TFT Prize, Tokyo Textile
Design Competition,
Tokyo, Japan
Himeji City Culture
Promotion Foundation
Prize – 50 th Anniversary
Himeji City, Japan
Works in collections
Nottingham Castle Museum and Art
Gallery, UK
Contemporary Art Society Collection,
UK
I am fascinated with ephemeral moments - the
ambiguity of time and space. Blurring clear
boundaries and the possibility of being „inbetween”
these two phenomena allow me
to view the world from various points of
view.
My Intention is to create „overlapping layers”
which appear to ebb and flow between static
and dynamic states. These overlapping
conditions are equivocal, ambiguous and
ephemeral in terms of the exact position of
the boundary and the way which it is perceived.
Composition between Japanese traditional texture
(Linen mosquito net) and Japanese traditional
twine which is called „Mizuhiki”
creates a dynamic emotional illusion. The
flickering light and shadow and the transience
of shifting surfaces allude to the
world of nature.
In Japanese, the word „musubu” means to tie
or bind, and when something is tied with
the strong, thin, ceremonial two-tone twine
made from Japanese paper fibers called
„Mizuhiki”, it takes on a special meaning.
To Japanese, tying something in this manner
conveys warmth, affection and togetherness.
My hope is to leverage this concept to
create a moment which binds people, culture
and time together in such a way that
participants are brought into an calm and
infinite space.
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