ART iT Orininals 01 Tabaimo mushi awase

Photo: Tomita Satomi

mushi awase

1. Bringing together (awase) insects (mushi) and competing to see which has the best song.

2. A type of uta-awase (tanka competition) in which contestants sit to the right and left and compete to see who can best compose poems associated with insects.
(From the Daijirin dictionary)

This platter featuring a design from my mushi asobi (insect play) series of drawings was fired at my parents' kiln. The "mushi awase" involved in capturing mushi asobi on a piece of pottery involved "bringing together" hand and insect, picture and pottery, and at the production stage, help from my parents. The surface of the plate will change as it is used, creating a look that brings with it the passage of time and the hands of the people who use the plate; and as its creator, I look forward to seeing it change in delightful and attractive ways.

Tabaimo
Born 1975 in Hyogo Prefecture, Graduated Kyoto University of Art and Design in 1999, receiving the 1999 Kirin Contemporary Award grand prize for her graduation piece Japanese Kitchen. She received the The Gotoh Memorial Prize (New Face Award) in 2002, then spent a year in London. She is best known for her animation-based video installations. International exhibitions include the 2002 São Paulo Biennale, the 2006 Biennale of Sydney, and the international show at the Italian Pavilion for the 2007 Venice Biennale. Recent solo shows: YOROYORON Tabaimo (2006, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art) and Tabaimo (2006, Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain).