Sophie has a background in history and science, and uses her artistic practice to explore creative methods of communicating research. Justas a scientist she assembles evidence, and as a historian she collects scraps of the past, both to piece together understanding to support gaps in present perspectives and future choices, so too as a digital and textile artist she stitches and weaves together materiality bringing historical narratives and the natural world together in vivid colours, organic lines and interwoven textures.

Textured lives: War in the Pacific

This work brings you face to face with members of theJapanese diaspora from around the Pacific rim, including people from Australia, Canada, USA, and Kalimantan, Borneo. Half of these people were interned during WW2 and half were not.

Using photos donated by family members and archival images, the portraits digitally reconstruct faces with kimono and obi fabric. Each portrait brought me face to face with a person, their family and their story, helping to imagine the sometimes little known, silenced or suppressed stories of the people re-presented beyond race-based generalisations.

The suitcase is woven in the style of Meiji era kori kaban, as used by Japanese diaspora on their journeys of trade and settlement around the Pacific prior to World War 2.This kori is embellished with materiality representing the different areas that Mise Kojiro lived during his life.  In all, there are eighty textile pieces, one for each year of Kojiro’s life.

This work questions the reductive notion of identity that classified Kojiro and others as ‘Japanese aliens’ during World War 2, despite the many and varied influences in their lives. Here, identity is woven from all the places lived. Details of each person’s story can be found through the link.

Works: Kori (woven suitcase) and portrait series - digitally quilted photograph prints on Canson Edition Etching paper (148x210mm), cane, wool, silk, cotton, leather, metal, pearl shell.