Tenugui

I was struck by the rich imagery and weathered material found in this multi-year project at the Steveston port of de-commissioning hundreds of fishing nets off of retired fishing boats. The stories in all these ropes, and gear, the colours, wear and tear - was a visual feast. The collection of ropes and nets that went home with me went through a creative processing that over time resulted in a traditional textile that can live on after these nets have been taken apart and repurposed.

Japanese fishermen were the first to come to Canada from Japan, landing in Steveston to fulfil their dream of fishing on the west coast. My great uncle in Hokkaido, a fisheries researcher, wrote papers on the sizes of the openings in fishing nets depending on the target species. Tenugui is a traditional Japanese towel made from special cotton fabric of 33 x 90 cm used widely in Japan for many purposes. It is lightweight and quick to dry making it easy to keep clean. Used on the head, around the neck, in the kitchen, its multi-functional characteristic has led to its popularity for centuries. I have combined the rich blue imagery of the cyanotype process, de-commissioned nets with the Tenugui cotton to create textiles that can live as artworks or as luxury textiles - imbued with the history of these centuries old stories.