Animal Fibers: Art Informs Shibori
Hong Kong Design Institute
14 Dec 2011- 13 Jan 2012 (confirmed)
An international exhibition of fiber art works showcasing shibori’s inherent transformative power on material, from 2-D to 3-D. With its shape changing and volume shifting abilities, the shibori process interplays uniquely with animal-based fibers. Inventive, style-making designs exploiting this interplay have been seen on catwalks of designers such as Yoshiki Hishinuma and Jurgen Lehl and in fiber work of artists like Jean Cacicedo and Jorie Johnson. This exhibition also comments on contemporary global innovations in materials that have been with humans since primeval time.
An accompanying exhibition, “Animal Fibers in Chinese Tradition,” curated by Edith Cheung. China is best known for its splendid developments in silks, though within china’s vast geography and history, there are often interesting use of animal fibers, especially within minority groups who raise sheep, goats, horses, yaks, camels and birds. Items chosen from different regions of China, and of various techniques will be displayed, including headdresses, costumes, carpets, stage costumes, with techniques of weaving, interlacing, felts and embroidery.
The departure theme for this international exhibition is art work made from animal fiber, animal hide, or a combination of both, utilizing the principles of shaped or resisted shibori dyeing techniques. These works should be inspired by the transformative properties of materials and their potential to change surface and structure, exhibiting visual and/or dimensional transformation.
Curators:
Jean Williams Cacicedo www.jeancacicedo.com
Jorie Johnson www.joirae.com
Edith Cheung (for “Animal Fibers in Chinese Tradition”)
