MAYA KITAKADO CANNON
ARTIST
Garnier & Linker's work on washi paper began with their first trips to Japan. Fascinated by the simple beauty of paper, their research had until then focused on finishing it with gold or platinum leaf or with urushi lacquer.
"The idea of intervening in the very making of paper to give it a relief or a color had become an obsession," Garnier & Linker say.
Until the day when, by chance of social media, the meeting occurred with a Japanese artist living in the United States. From her artistic journey between Japan and the United States, Maya Kitakado Cannon has specialized in the work on printing and paper, especially on its making at the Awagami factory in Tokushima.
At this workshop, now run by the 6th generation and whose current director has been nominated a National Treasure of Japan, raw material is harvested, processed by hand, and formed into sheets using traditional techniques.. Maya is experimenting with papermaking interventions that will serve as a basis for joint work with Garnier & Linker.
The collaborative work began in 2020: "around the start of the pandemic in 2020, a lovely message from Garnier and Linker led to an opportunity to share ideas and begin to experiment with our combined visions. After transforming a corner of my home to a paper studio during the lockdown, our long-distance collaboration commenced!" summarizes Maya.
Huile et caséine sur papier, 18 x 15 cm, 2019
"HANDLING NATURAL FIBERS AND TAPPING INTO A HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE AND CYCLICAL WAYS OF MAKING LEADS TO EXCITING AND UNPREDICTABLE DISCOVERIES ALONG THE WAY."
Maya kitakado cannon
Exchanges on the techniques used and the common taste for the matter gave birth to first tests. Two tracks were then chosen, to create sheets in both kozo, fiber of mulberry tree, and mitsumata fibers, traditionally used for washi in Japan.
The first one consists in letting the thicknesses be done in a natural way in the paper making mould to give a random relief. This relief is also enhanced by the technique of kakishibu, a natural dye made from persimmon juice.
The second research leads to create a controlled relief in the form of a gradient, from the most marked texture to a much smoother paper.
The papers are then mounted in cherry or walnut screens by a French cabinetmaker.
