Sairi Yoshizawa, Essence, Handwoven and natural dyed cotton, wool and stainless steel, 110cm height x 17cm diameter x 3, 110cm height x 8cm diameter x 4
Sairi Yoshizawa’s recent award-winning work applies a particularly Japanese approach to Australian nature, revealing the rustic beauty of eucalyptus.
Sairi’s work reflects her interest in the eternal discovery of colours in landscapes.
Her three eucalyptus bark dyed works are first woven with pre-mordant dyed threads. The work is first plain woven fabric however after the fabric is dipped/dyed in one bath the monotonous landscape appears; it is like searching for and recording nuance of colours and patterns in the landscape. The four eucalyptus leaves woven work are all woven with pre-hand natural dyed threads. The work took roughly four months to complete, not every day as she has been working on other projects. Many of her works are works on progress. There was a time gap between completing the bark-dyed and leaf-dyed works. She combined the works together to give more conceptual value by exploring the common grounds of belonging. The material absorbs the substance of everyday life. It explores the inner surface of truth through unique and unpredictable colours of the environment.
Sairi Yoshizawa, Essence (detail), Handwoven and natural dyed cotton, wool and stainless steel, 110cm height x 17cm diameter x 3, 110cm height x 8cm diameter x 4
Sairi weaves her work using three small tablelooms at home, two 4-heddle tablelooms from the university and gift from friend’s sister in law’s in the living room, a 8-heddle tableloom rented from a friend who probably wants it back very soon in her bedroom. She natural dyes her threads in the garage mostly find her materials in local areas, bushland and spice markets. Sairi is currently researching and experimenting with traditional Japanese dye mordents and techniques with the Australian landscape to explore more colours and patterns.
Sairi Yoshizawa was born in Japan and migrated to Australia at the age of seven. She is an emerging fibre design artist who studied textiles design arts with honours at Australian National University. She continued her studies at University of New South Wales Faculty of Art and Design where she completed her Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership.
Sairi has exhibited in a number of group shows including Wangaratta Art Center, Wagga Wagga Regional Art Gallery E3 Space, Gosford and North Sydney art prizes. She is a recipient of Canberra Spinners and Weavers award, Australian Decorative and Fine Art award, ANU Research School of Asian Pacific award and Alliance Francaise award in 2011. In 2014, she was an artist in resident at Sturt Australian Design and Craft Centre, in Mittagong. In her recent work, she seeks to explore and express the concept of everyday life in art and culture, through showcasing fragility of colours and materials made by plants and land. The exhibition Susurrance was her first solo show at the Incinerator Willoughby Art Space in 2017 and her second solo show Residue will be from 9th – 20th October 2019 at Art Space Concourse Chatswood during Craft Week NSW
Sairi Yoshizawa is the inaugural winner of the Ruth Amery Commemorative Award, Wangaratta Art Gallery.
