Through the surface: collaborating textile artists from Britain and Japan

Through the Surface explores points of difference and similarity within cultures of Japan and Britain through the exchange of ideas, techniques, cultural and personal sensibilities as they relate to working practice. Fourteen textile artists from the UK and Japan have taken part in the project, which has been structured as a mentoring scheme. Seven emerging artists, four from Britain and three from Japan, travelled to work with established artists form their opposite country. All the artists have produced work as a result of that exchange, and all the work has been created through collaborative involvement with themes of the project which have been concerned with surface texture and hidden structure of textiles. The work presented for Through the Surface international touring exhibition is the outcome of Claire Barber's three months research in Japan while working alongside the established Kyoto based Textile Artist, Teruyoshi Yoshida. Additionally Barber & Yoshida developed site sensitive textile installations for exhibition venues in Halifax, Brighton and Nottingham