ECA exhibit showcases Japanese ties

As part of a collaboration with Kyoto Seika University, Japan (KSU), the Edinburgh College of Art, this week, are to display a mixed-media exhibition based on an artistic exchange between the two cultures.

Drawing inspiration from a two week visit in October by 3rd year ECA students to work with textile students in Kyoto, Japan, the exhibition forms part of the Japan-UK 150 anniversary celebrations, and is funded by the Daiwan Anglo-Japanese Foundation – a UK charity formed to support relations between the two countries.

A spokesperson for the ECA said: “The exhibition shows a diversity of ideas and unusual connections, an excitement about developing dialogues across cultures and a genuine and thoughtful engagement with the different cultures of Scotland and Japan.”

The trip to Kyoto was preceded by a blog between students from both institutions, established in order to facilitate the sharing of images from each culture. It was hoped that the exchange would lay a foundation for when the students met to develop their ideas.

The visit consisted of excursions to significant locations such as the 21st Century art museum in Kanazawa, the Naoshima Art Project and the Site of Reversible Destiny park in Gifu. As well as engaging with Japanese art history, the ECA students were encouraged to immerse themselves in a radically different lifestyle, and were able to spend time in the studio with their Japanese counterparts.

The project was organised by Professor Machiko Agano of Kyoto Seika University and the ECA’s Fiona Mathison, lecturer in Intermedia. Concluding the trip, Professor Agano, along with fellow eminent artist Professor Tetsuo Kusama of Okayama Prefectural University exhibited solo exhibitions of their own work.

ECA student Phillipa Graham said: “The trip to Japan was a huge opportunity for me, I'd never previously left Europe so it was just incredible to see somewhere so different. Working with Japanese students was such an experience and certainly one I will remember for a long time.”

The final result displays a unique dialogue between the two cultures, created using mixed media such as photography, video and sound. A collection of the pieces produced before, during and after the trip, is also available on the ECA-KSU website and in an accompanying catalogue.

The exhibition will continue in the Evolution House until 12 December.