My previous research project Through the Surface (exhibition/catalogue, 2004, AHRB funded) explored cross-cultural exchange between established and emerging practitioners. An invitation in 2007 from Kunstcentralen Norway to further pursue these ideas provided the opportunity to develop a generic model for cross-cultural negotiation and exchange translated through practice. The project was a three-way collaboration between Japan, Norway and the UK: it was the first time such an enterprise had taken place in Norway. The different yet complementary approaches of Norwegian and Japanese artists were explored through exchanges conducted in English, a second language for all the artists, placing special emphasis on the understanding of cloth, and the making of cloth as common language.

The collaborations were based on the processes of realising form and structure in textiles and focused on the practices involved in making. Emphasis was placed on the relationships set up between practitioners and their social and material environments. The research was conducted through documentation of the collaborative exchange of ideas, working methods and creative processes. All participants contributed regular journals to the website which were in the form of reflective analysis of their creative process and collaborative exchange with their project partner: these formed the basis for the final documentation of the project.

The exhibition opened at Gallery F15, Moss, Norway April 2009, and toured to Gallery Hå, Bergen Sept 2010, Norway, National Centre for Craft and Design, Lincolnshire Jan 2010, Rugby Art Gallery and Museum June 2010, Prefectorial Museum of Modern Art Okayama, Japan Dec 2010, and the National Museum of Modern Art Gunma. I have presented related papers at the Kunstnernes Hus Oslo, Norway (2009), and the Prefectorial Museum of Modern Art Okayama, Japan (2010).

Funders were: Norsk Kulturråd, Office for Contemporary Art, Norwegian Association of Arts & Crafts, Chunichi Inadomi Foundation, Scandinavian Sasakawa Foundation.

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