The last two weeks have certainly been a busy time. Last weekend I brought you photos from the Sogetsu workshop I had conducted on the theme of using text in an ikebana work.
The following day, Tuesday 22nd August, was spent setting up the Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter annual exhibition. In this exercise I was the principal curator, assisted by a small team of Kaye Wong, Margaret Wilson, Chieko Yazaki and Elishia Zhang. The exhibition space was the lobby of the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.
As this photo shows, it is a very large space, with a number of challenges from a curatorial perspective when the artwork is ikebana.
The large windows on the lefthand side look into a glass-roofed atrium. This meant that in the day time there was quite strong light coming from behind the three installations in the window recesses. Ikebana works were also set on long narrow tables behind the groups of couches and chairs.
We also used the open central space. For this we brought our folding shoji screens and plinths as were unable to use the walls.
The exhibition was opened by the Consul-General of Japan, Mr Matsunaga. He and his wife are the co-patrons of Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter. The photo above was taken on another occasion.
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I was assisted by my student Kyoko Imai in setting up this contemporary style ikebana work in a large Shigaraki vessel. The materials are: driftwood melaleuca lanceolata, gymea leaves doryanthes excelsa, white chrysanthemum, and lattice made from red painted agapanthus stems.
In this photo, taken at the the official opening of the exhibition, I am sitting on the window sill to provide a sense of scale.
II Annual Exhibition photos link.
Greetings from Christopher
3rd September 2017
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