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16/12/2001

Echoes of the Spirit

Bolton Museum, Bolton

Echoes of the Spirit - Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Artists with Disabilities - ABLE ART Exhibition in United Kingdom. Organized by Tanpopo-No-Ye Foundation

All over Japan, artists have joined hands with their disabled peers to breath new life into the traditional arts of both Eastern and Western traditions. Five such collaborative groups have come together in this display of calligraphy, painting, drawing and photography. A fine illustration of social emancipation through the visual arts. The touring exhibition will be accompanied by artwork and a program of events created and performed by Bolton based artists with disabilities.

Someone said 'If art has a mission, it is to present a new way of looking at the world different from the way in which people view their everyday life.'

I think the work of people with (learning) disabilities expresses the way in which they look at the world and is not dependent on verbal culture. Thus, it achieves this mission more straightforwardly and vividly than the art of others.

All the works in this exhibition are based on the artist's usual themes, using materials that are readily available. It is a creative process adhering closely to the pattern of their lives and, as a result, speaks strongly of the Japanese culture in which the works were born. Yet I am convinced that they will have resonance for their audience in the UK whose culture is quite different.

The theme of this exhibition is 'echo'. We have produced 'Oto-no-curtain' (Sound Curtain) as a symbol of this abstract idea. The curtain is a collaborative work between people with and without disabilities. It is hoped that when visitors touch the curtain, there will be interaction and stimulation of the senses by the sound produced.
Hata Yoshiko

ABLE ART MOVEMENT

As we enter a new century, a great task faces us. It will lie in the restoration of the ties, broken in the previous century, between people and society, people and nature and between individuals themselves. We believe that art has the power to help people live in fullness and holds the key to the restoration of this relationship. Close ties of this kind will enable mankind to recover a sense of humanity. Since l995, when we coined the expression the 'Able Art Movement,' we have focussed on the work of people with disabilities in the visual arts. This 'Art of the Soul,' overflowing as it does with raw energy, is expressive of their diverse and multi-layered world and has significant impact on all those who see it. Yet the spiritual and creative activities of people with disabilities have yet to been given their full due. We use the new term 'Able Art' to describe their creative world. Our activities have striven to provide the environment in which the creativity of people with disabilities can blossom and be seen, appreciated and accepted in mainstream society.
The activities of the 'Able Art Movement' are founded on the belief that 'there are as many universes as individuals.' This is expressed through exhibitions such as those held in l997 and l998 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art and our other activities. Every individual has the right to self-determination, self-realisation, and fulfillment and we propose that this right should be our social goal.

With the support of:
Japan 2001
Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities
ABLE ART JAPAN

Bolton Museum, Art Gallery & Aquarium, Le Mans Crescent, Bolton, BL1 1SE

Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 10.00am to 5.00pm. Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays.

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