I visited Japan for the first time in mid 2015. It was a place whose textile artists greatly influenced my appreciation of craftsmanship, material understanding and process. While there I undertook an artist residency in Onishi, a remote country town in the mountains. Dotted along the streets were intriguing paper lanterns. These lamppost-like objects were fascinating and I developed a daily ritual of making blind continuous line drawings of them. For me these were interesting and engaging objects; for the locals they were just lampposts. Through working with these objects I was reminded that perspective is what makes something special.
These works explore notions of belonging, the way that marks in cloth, on paper and on the land are made as gestures of connection and understanding: making places and making marks.
Drawing the paper lanterns became a mapping of a new and different place. They were a means through which to explore and become familiar with the town. Translating the drawings into stitched pieces enabled me time to think through these ideas and to create alternative maps of Onishi, recordings that embody my own experience and time.