2018 – Visual Letters Workshop by Yumi Ito

On Thursday the 17th of May Deshima AIR organizes an inspiring workshop where we will experience to convey a message with different means of the arts. Under the guidance of Yumi Ito, you will be able to get in contact with a variety of material and ways to communicate and actually see how communication is influenced by art and culture, but also how art and culture are means for that communication.

YUMI ITO
In May of this year Japanese artist Yumi Ito will be a participant for the Artist in Residency Deshima AIR. She is a fashion designer and textile artist. During her previous visit to the Netherlands she did research on the archives of Deshima and found the correspondence from the 18th century between the Japanese Masatsuna Kutsuki, a hereditary Japanese daimyo, and the Dutch Isaac Titsingh, senior official of the East India Company. This exclusive contact during the seclusion of Japan has inspired Ito to translate it into an art project.

A fragment of the letter exchange between Titsingh and Kutsuki (Dutch)
Na een gemakkelijk reis kwam ik den 3 January op Batavia, waar ik den 29 April tot directeur van Bengale weird aangesteld, en mij gereed maak half July de reis na derwaerds te onderstaan, schoon ik dus het geluk niet zal hebben UWEd: weeder te ontmoeten zal ik Jaarlijx met schrijven onse vriendschap onderhouden versoekende dat [UWEd:] myne brieven wilt beantwoorden en mij daar by opgeeven, waar meede ik UWEd: eenig plaisier kan doen, gelyk ik zulks van myn kant meede zal bedeelen.

WORKSHOP
Yumi Ito was inspired by these letter exchanges, because they were a lot more than just business as it sparked a bit of culture, but she also finds it interesting to see how a message is shaped and conveyed. The way we communicate is influenced by the time and culture we live in. This all inspired Ito to organize a workshop where shaping a message is pulled into a broader perspective. In this workshop you will think of how to “visualize” or “shape” a message. With Ito’s guidance you will think about means and ways to convey Titsingh’s or one of your own messages.

PROGRAM
18.30-19.00 Welcome
19.00-19.15 Presentation by Yumi Ito
19.15-20.30 Workshop
20.30-21.00 Presentation works

DATA
When: Thursday May 17th 2018, 18.30 ~ 21.00
Where: 3e Wittenburgerdwarsstraat 1 | 1018 KR Amsterdam
Costs: Free donation
Necessities: all materials will be taken care of for both workshops. You are always free to bring your own.

Are you interested in participating? Please send an email to: deshima.air@gmail.com