EVENT

Curator Gallery Talk: Spotlight on ‘Living Colours’

キュレータートーク

Unravel the ‘Living Colours’ exhibition at Japan House London, and get behind-the-scenes insights into its curation, in a special evening gallery talk by Japan House Programming Director Simon Wright.

The exhibition ‘Living Colours’ explores the work of the Yoshioka Dyeing Workshop in Fushimi, near Kyoto city, which is led by master dyer and colour historian Yoshioka Sachio. Under the direction of Yoshioka, the craftspeople at the 200-year-old family-run workshop dye textiles and washi (Japanese paper) using only natural plant-based materials, pure Kyoto spring water and age-old dyeing techniques.

During the talk visitors are led through a forest of colour – a series of colour combination displays hand-dyed by the Yoshioka Dyeing Workshop - each communicating a special seasonal message. These are intended to recreate the language of kasane, a concept of layering colours, first seen in Heian-period Japan (794-1185 CE). Discover how poetry, literature and ancient Buddhist practices are woven into the story of colour and continue to resonate with people in Japan to this day.

Please meet in front of the welcome desk in the Lobby on the lower ground floor to participate in the talk. Please note that there are only limited places, so entry is on a first-come first-served basis. Sign up on the day with a member of the Japan House team.

‘Living Colours: Kasane – the Language of Japanese Colour Combinations’ is on display in the Gallery at Japan House until 19 May 2019.