– An object often outlives its creator and is what tells our stories. In the exhibition, we have both completely new born and several millennial protagonists who meet side by side in one and the same room. The meeting here can teach us a lot about time and space, man and nature, life and death, material and beauty, says Anna Senno.
– Through materiality and ornamentation we shape both the world and ourselves, says Rebecca Ahlstedt. We are full of anticipation for the new stories that will be created when the exhibition meets the public as several of the works are interactive and analog.
For the first time in the history of the East Asian Museum, works from the fourth generation of bamboo masters meet, a newly created bathing ritual in Iceland with Jomon ceramics, lacquer crafts and Sami 18th century drums. Two of the ritual drums were found in Marseille by Sami craftsman Fredrik Prost and Anna Senno after years of searching. In unison, they have created a contemporary time drum that speaks of the relationship between sound and silence.
The exhibition consists of three thematic explorations, Materiality in Motion, Water Rituals and the Return of Silence, and is created by Rebecca Ahlstedt, Anna Senno and the design studio 1+1+1.
Nature, materiality and movement is a recurring theme in the exhibition with, among other things, interactive objects from Masaru Kawai’s forest in Gifu, Japan, Rebecca Ahlstedt’s and Seyia Mitazaki’s wril bench made in Dalarna, and a meeting between Nittsjölera and SU-EN Butoh company in the dance form Butoh.
In the Stair Hall, Needles is displayed, a dizzying work by Japanese artist Toshimasa Kikuchi. Inspired by mathematical model studies from the late 19th century, lacquered sculptures in Japanese precious cypress hang from the ceiling and play with opposites in the room.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Undeni and the World Culture Museums with the support of the Nordic Culture Fund. The exhibition also shows items from the Dalarna Museum, Mucem in Marseille and Galerie Mingei in Paris.
