I took Boris on a visit to Rennie Gallery last Sunday to participate in Yoko Ono’s interactive exhibition in residence, Mend Piece. The main level gallery is set up with a long table and chairs, and the surface is covered in white cups and saucers broken into pieces. Participants are given little instruction, just welcomed to sit and mend these pieces of broken pottery using minimal materials, such as tape, glue, and string.

From the Rennie Museum press release:

First conceptualized in 1966, the work immerses the visitor in a dream-like state. Viewers enter into an all-white space and are welcomed to take a seat at the table to reassemble fragments of ceramic coffee cups and saucers using the provided twine, tape, and glue. Akin to the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect, Mend Piece encourages the participant to transform broken fragments into an object that prevails its own violent rupture. The mended pieces are then displayed on shelves installed around the room. The contemplative act of mending is intended to promote reparation starting within one’s self and community, and bridge the gap created by violence, hatred, and war. In the words of Yoko Ono herself, “Mend with wisdom, mend with love. It will mend the earth at the same time.”

The previous two photos above are of the “mending” I worked on in the half hour of time we were allotted to do the activity. I stopped myself from overthinking things and immediately chose a few pieces of pottery to work with, then focused on wrapping white string around them.

I’ve included photos here of mended pieces that caught my eye on the shelves that were assembled by previous participants. I love the butterfly made with string and broken saucers, and the bowl filled with loops of twine.

These are photos of some of the wonderful art in Tree of Life at Lipont Place in Richmond. I went to see it last weekend and left feeling super excited and inspired by all of the incredible work. It’s a traveling show predominantly featuring textile art by fifty-eight master artists from twenty Asian countries.

From the Lipont Place website:

The Tree of Life is an archetype, theme, motif, image, spiritual concept and mythological story that is found across cultures and throughout human history. It is understood to connect all forms of creation and is a cosmic conception that embodies life’s mysteries, unites the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, and is seen as a representation of everlasting life. Its various interpretations from indigenous cultures and major religions have influenced art, architecture, and visual representation for millennia.

This international exhibition explores the ways in which the Tree of Life has been represented in 20 countries across Central, South, East, and South-east Asia and includes the artwork of 58 artists and craftspeople, many of whom are masters of their chosen form and some who are Living National Treasures in their countries of origin. The artworks are as diverse as the cultures they originate from and are both traditional and contemporary. They are handcrafted from natural and sustainable materials, and include textiles, paintings, ceramics, weaving, leather, lacquer ware, jewellery, stone, wood, and metal.

The show continues until Tuesday October 10th. Read more about it on the Lipont Place website.

I attended a lecture by Mo Kelman at the beginning of September as part of Maiwa School of Textiles fall schedule, when they bring in a new round of out of town speakers to teach and talk. Kelman is an interesting choice for Maiwa because while she does use textiles in her work, her approach is non-traditional and not at all functional.

I went back a week later to view her show at the Silkweaving Studio on Granville Island.

It was great to see her work in person so soon after the talk because photos don’t quite do justice to them. I loved these amazing sculptures that use bamboo structures, nails, thread, fabric, and sometimes sausage casing (!) to create abstract organic forms stretched across the wall. The shadows cast by the forms were an import element to the work as well, but maybe it’s because I love a good shadow.

Unfortunately, you can’t go see the show yourself because it closed on the weekend but you can check out more work on Mo Kelman’s website.