Bring Change Through Beauty
Japanese Boro Yogi, late 19th – early 20th century. Photo: Birgitta Huse
“Boro is a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together which have become very popular with collectors over the last twenty years.”
“The exhibition unites beauty and a clear mission. Karun Thakar, the collector and curator wants to “bring change through beauty” in a world with outrageous waste problems and a “waste colonialism” which need global solutions. ”
“The exhibition is a beauty, knowledge and inspiration treasure trove. ”
Bring Change Through Beauty
“Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling” at Brunei Gallery, London
★★★★★
WRITTEN BY DR BIRGITTA HUSE, 13.07.2023
Surprisingly, the piece shown in the first photo of this article is not a Japanese Kimono. It is a Boro Yogi, a Yogi being an oversized kimono-shaped duvet or sleeping bag which is usually padded with cotton wadding, hemp fibre waste or rice straw. Boro is a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together which have become very popular with collectors over the last twenty years. There is much more to say about this Japanese sleeping bag, for example that the traditional Japanese stencil technique Katazome and Indigo were used to dye the cotton fabric…
Exhibition view. Photo: Birgitta Huse
Brunei Gallery in London highlights the beauty of Japanese recycling, showcasing objects made from cotton, hemp, bast fibres, washi (handmade paper) and more. Over a hundred objects from the Karun Thakar collection are exhibited from 13th July to 23rd September 2023. Despite the fact that most of the exhibition pieces have their origin in hardship and poverty, fascination took over when I looked at boro and sakiori (ripped up and woven fabric) textiles, shifu (handwoven paper textile) garments, washi paper as well as kin-tsugi (golden joinery) pottery during the exhibition preview of “Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling”.
Washi paper. Photo: Birgitta Huse
Saki (fabric striped into pieces and prepared for weaving). Photo: Birgitta Huse
The exhibition unites beauty and a clear mission. Karun Thakar, the collector and curator wants to “bring change through beauty” in a world with outrageous waste problems and a “waste colonialism” which need global solutions. Thakar, who does not only collect systematically and shares his treasures and knowledge with as many people as possible in exhibitions and publications, explained what keeps him going: “It is especially young people who really do want to know”. Brunei Gallery is a perfect match. The SOAS gallery located in Bloomsbury near Russell Square and the British Museum is especially accessible for students and everyone interested, more so as the entrance is free. Most of the objects shown, very rare ones amongst them, are not “hidden away” in show cases. Instead, the visitors can have a close look from a short distance at fabric structure, warp and weft, yarns, stitches and so many more details of interest.
Robe made from Elm bark fibres (detail). Ainu indigenous people of North Japan. Photo: Birgitta Huse
The exhibition is a beauty, knowledge and inspiration treasure trove. The admiration of traditional Japanese textiles is interwoven with inspiring learning about many possibilities in terms of (natural)material use as well as textile and paper recycling. Some exquisite pieces of kin-tsugi complement the experience of “Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling”. One crucial question is either inspired for the first time or “refreshed” by a visit to this show: Why discard an object of material and other value, emotional and cultural for example, if this object turns out to be the more fascinating the longer we use it and take loving and creative care of it? Last but not least we also have to face the fact that mending and darning is not always “nice to do and have” in combination with responsible consumer behaviour. Rather it is a necessity for a quickly growing number of people also in basically “rich countries”.
“Japanese Aesthetics of Recycling” can be seen at Brunei Gallery, SOAS, Bloomsbury until 23rd September 2023.