Viewing age-old practices of weaving and ceramics at Tristan Hoare Gallery

Bringing these two artists and their chosen materials together is a way of finding connections between the age-old practices of weaving and ceramics, both involving intensive physical labour. Specifically in the woven works of Hazard and in the ceramic vessels of Yasunaga, both artists engage in radical acts to bring their artworks to life, in an attempt to dissociate their chosen mediums from associations with function. Yasunaga, for example, employs glaze as his primary material from which he builds his sculptural works, using fire as a sculpting tool. Each glazed piece is then prepared for firing by burying it under protective layers of sand and kaolin which organically fuse together in the kiln.

Hazard, meanwhile, presents works from a new series, begun in 2017, exploring the Japanese notion of boro boro – referring to textiles that have been stitched, patched, mended or rewoven together. In her works, Hazard introduces woven Japanese paper into her small-format weavings. “One might think they are veils meant to conceal, but they are actually transparent, lightweight. You can see the woven pattern behind the veil.” Hazard explains. “The veils are meant to convey a sense of nobility, of preciousness to a set of techniques usually associated with discards and poverty.”