Remembering Matsushima Island, 2019–ongoing. Installation detail. Knitted textile, bamboo spools, wooden chairs, single channel video projection. Margaret Lawrence Gallery.
Image credit: Aaron Christopher Rees.
In November 2019, I spent two weeks on Matsushima Island, the smallest inhabited island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. The island has two permanent residents and a few occasional visitors who come there to either fish, or to take a short walk to the top of the island to visit a shrine. It is accessible only by boat, and only when the sea is calm.
During my stay a significant amount of time was spent observing the daily rhythms and movements on the island. In the evenings, hours were devoted to knitting simple dishcloths with one of the local residents. These quiet relational activities became the inspiration for the work. Remembering Matsushima Island, aims to knit a scarf long enough to go around the island. Began during my time there, and continuing back in Australia, it is perhaps a futile gesture. However, the continued daily stitching, enables an ongoing practice of remembering and relating with the island from a distance.
Remembering Matsushima Island, 2019. Excerpt from single channel video.
Remembering Matsushima Island, 2019–ongoing. Installation detail. Knitted textile, bamboo spools, wooden chairs. Margaret Lawrence Gallery.
Image credit: Eliza Dyball, Christo Crocker and Aaron Christopher Rees.
Knitting with Sagami-san, 2020. Archival digital print, 48.5 x 64 cm. Installation detail, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA.
Image credit: Aaron Christopher Rees, 2020.
Please ask if you have any questions, 2019. Framed hand-written note on paper, 28.5x28.5cm. Installation detail, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, VCA.
Image credit: Aaron Christopher Rees, 2020.