Through the Surface

The project 'Through the Surface’ explored points of difference and similarity within cultures of Japan and Britain through the exchange of ideas, techniques, and cultural and personal experiences as they relate to working practice.

Fourteen textile artists from the UK and Japan took part in the project, which was 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. I mentored Kaori Hosozawa who had attended a workshop I gave at the Kawashima Textile School, Kyoto, in 1998. The project was designed in 3 stages.

Stage one: Involved exchanging ideas and practice while developing new work. These experiences were documented in an illustrated monthly journal on the website. www.throughthesurface.surrat.ac.uk

Stage two: UK tour of four major venues in the UK including the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts which included relevant documentation from the website as a CDRom which was shown during the exhibition.

Stage three: Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, Japan, and workshop at The Kawashima Textile School Kyoto.

The familiar takes on new meaning when seen through the eyes of a fellow artist from another culture. From my research I introduced my mentee to a range of industrial materials and techniques from which developed a new process using a conductive non-woven fabric designed for fuel cells. This became the basis for work inspired by fossils during our visit to The Natural History Museum. The work was concerned with expressing time, suppressed energy and memory. The collaborative piece took the form of concertina pages using fabric resist and electroplating with copper and zinc.

Frances Geesin

I am currently working with the Institute of Nanotechnology exploring nanomedical images and interpreting them into 2D and 3D work for exhibitions. In preparation, I am collaborating with Steven Harkin (LCF), creating accessories with industrial materials and metalising techniques. I am also working with Queen Mary UL 'The Intelligent fashion Group "Living Colour"'.

I am developing photonic systems onto textiles in collaboration with other specialists. This area of work has potential for many types of optical elements both passive and active. The emphasis of my research interest is in aesthetics. Fabric samples are presently being treated and the results will demonstrate the possibilities for, and viability of, future collaborations. A company has provided me with a range of industrial conductive shielding materials which I am currently using and assessing. The successful collaboration with Scilla Speet, Head of Jewellery at Central Saint Martins, continues as we enjoy each others contribution and involvement. I am working towards a project with a Cognitive Neural Scientist at Manchester University exploring fabric as a metaphor for representing pain.

• Organisation
• http://www.scva.org.uk/exhibitions/archi...