Naomi spent over a month in Japan exhibiting the project at the International Design Museum, Nagoya�and spending time in Tokyo.

Throughout the trip Naomi introduced the Australia Japan Match Box Project to future collaborators and members of the public, travelling with 2 Match Box Project Galleries, featuring 12 participating artists.

MATCH BOX GALLERIES ARRIVING AT NARITA AIRPORT

Match Box Galleries by Leanne Shedlezki

Photographs by Naomi Shedlezki (c) 2006

All works in Galleries 15 x 20cm. Works from Left to Right

Side A of the first Gallery exhibited the work of Leanne, and the first Australian and Japanese Match Box Project participants, Zoe MacDonell and Yutaka Katoh.

1. Yutaka Katoh, Made in Japan, 2006 mixed media
2. Leanne Shedlezki, Friendship, 2006 archival inks on etching paper
3. Zoe MacDonell, Fantasyland, 2006 mixed media

Side B exhibited the works of Leanne and two artists exhibiting in Japan during Naomi’s travels. Imants Tillers and Hirotoshi Sakaguchi.

1. Imants Tillers, Hereafter, 2006 acrylic, gouache on canvasboard No. 77318
2. Hirotoshi Sakaguchi, untitled, 2006 acrylic on board
3. Leanne Shedlezki Matched, 2006, mixed media

 

We invited Sydney Curatorial team, back in 5 to curate a Match Box Gallery. They invited Mark Brown, Hamilton Darroch, Helena Leslie, Luis Martinez, and (late) [ant mrav], 5 artists from Sydney who respond to their immediate environment within their practice.

1. Luis Martinez, Bungarribee Rd, 2006 pencil on paper
2. back in 5 bin5, 2006 mixed media
3. Mark Brown Voodoo Point fragments 3, found industrial fragments & engravings

1. Helena Leslie, Shadow Series, 2006 pencil on paper, plastic figurine
2. (late)[ant mrav], Unscreened/So Where the Bloody Hell Are You? 2006, enamel on fly screen
3. Hamilton Darroch, Journey Text, 2006, mixed media

Below are a number of Match Box Tokyo experiences

IMANTS TILLERS AT PRISM: CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN ART EXHIBITION

Imants Tillers met with Naomi and Match Box Tokyo participants. He conducted an Artist Talk at the Bridgestone Museum of Art where his work was exhibiting in Prism:Contemporary Australian Art.

Imants and Tokyo Artists pictured in front of the Bridgestone

Match Box Gallery in front of Bridgestone’s window featuring Imants Tillers Prism, 1986.

SAKAGUCHI RESEARCH GROUP ACTIVITIES AT TOKYO NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FINE ART AND MUSIC (TOKYO GEIDAI)

During a visit to Sakaguchi’s Art studio, Sydney Match Box Tour participants reminisced about the great time they had in Australia.

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In honour of the inaugural Match Box Projects’ Sydney Art Tour and Cultural Exchange Program, Naomi presented Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music with numerous books on Australian Contemporary Art. This was thanks to the generous donation of books by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

TOKYO ART BEAT’S 2ND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION, AT SUPERDELUXE.

www.tokyoartbeat.com is a wonderful bi-lingual website on what is happening in Tokyo in the Art and Design scenes, including great instructions in english on how to get to the many galleries and museums in Tokyo. A definate read before and during a trip to Tokyo .

At their 2nd anniversary party, local artist/illustrator, Nobumasa Takahashi drew a wonderful tribute to Match Box’s Tokyo Art Beat.

Nobumasa’s tribute: It was wonderful to see it evolve on the big screen.

Match Box back in 5 Gallery with the Directors of Tokyo Art Beat

SAKAGUCHIS SOLO OPENING PARTY

Jennie Tate, who was in Japan filming her experimental film on the Sumida River popped in to the opening of Hirotoshi Sakaguchi’s solo exhibition at Omotesando Gallery. It was a wonderful surprise for him and a great opportunity to catch up with Hirotoshi and his students who had visited Jennie’s home/studio on the Match Box Project Sydney Tour in August.

A DAY WITH DESIGNER AND MATCH BOX LABEL ENTHUSIAST, YUTAKA KATOH

Yutaka Katoh is a Designer and Match Box Label Collector. Through his generous support, Match Box gained a wonderful insight into the history of Japanese art and design on matchboxes on a research trip to Japan in May. Yutaka become the first Match Box Project Participant from Japan. Naomi joined him in Shibuya where he was judging a Match Box design competition.

LINDA DENNIS SOLO EXHIBITION AT YOUKOBO

Linda Dennis, is currently a PHD candidate at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, and a wonderful ambassador for Australia. Last year she instigated the Interimage exchange between Tokyo Geidai and QCA, Griffith University, which led to 10 Japanese artists travelling to Sydney (for a Match Box Project Sydney Art Exchange Tour of the Biennale of Sydney, and the art scene ) and Brisbane to conduct activities with QCA staff, alumni and postgraduate students. Naomi visited�Linda at Youkobo Art Space, Tokyo where she was installing work for her solo exhibition. �

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Linda and helpers at Youkobo Art Space.

The response to the Match Box Galleries by the general public was amazing. Naomi took numerous photos of the locals. This photo was taken at�Asakusa with one of the�locals after he was�introduced to Match Box Galleries.� Co-incidently he�knows Match Box’s Yukata Katoh quite well!

Special thanks to Qantas for their invaluable support

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