Ahead of her show with Japanese ceramicist Masaomi Yasunaga at Tristan Hoare Gallery, French artist Marie Hazard discusses language, loss and the ancient technique of weaving with exhibition curator, Sonya Tamaddon.
BY SONYA TAMADDON | ART & CULTURE | 7 JUNE 2024
Paris-based weaver, Marie Hazard, and Japanese ceramicist, Masaomi Yasunaga, present a dual exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery showing now until 28 June. Marie spoke to curator Sonya Tamaddon about her inspirations and creative process, and how the two artists worked together.
Marie Hazard and Masaomi Yasunaga, Tristan Hoare Gallery, 30 May - 28 June
Sonya Tamaddon: "I’d like to talk about the correspondence you had with Masaomi Yasunaga ahead of our exhibition. You developed the work in Paris, while he was in Japan, never having met. In one exchange he reflected, “I believe that my expressive method could only be realized as a ceramic artist.” Does this resonate with you and your relationship to weaving?
Marie Hazard: "I would say yes. Actually when I was asking Masaomi about his work it was to understand the deeper meaning behind his ceramics. They have an aura, you can feel them in the space of the exhibition, even the smallest ones. This feeling that you have once you enter the exhibition is very powerful."
"I don’t think there is a particular aura behind my weaves, but they tell a story, and the act of weaving can be considered by its function a primitive method. For me, weaving is also meditative and demands a lot of patience, much like ceramics I guess. Every weave begins with a drawing, some of which you can see in the exhibition. Sometimes I also paint but that’s another story."
Sonya Tamaddon: "The exhibition starts with Boro Boro, a tapestry whose title nods to the Japanese textile practice that has been an influence in your work since 2017. How does this piece register your existing preoccupations and new ones conceived?"
Marie Hazard: "I like that you speak about this work and the fact that it is one of the first works you see when you enter the exhibition. Boro Boro is indeed a technique I discovered when I was conducting research for my show at the Central Saint Martin’s library. I am interested in the sustainable preoccupation of textiles.
"This ancient technique is incredibly futuristic and should be considered an example in our textile industry. Stitching several pieces of fabrics together to conceive a new one is also very symbolic. Boro Boro is a summary of my process of weaving as well: I am weaving a grid, the work references the metaphor of the grid a weavers draws upon before beginning a weaving. Before Boro Boro I was working on my self-portrait with my hands and my face."
Sonya Tamaddon: "One of the many things I find fascinating about your work is how you connect it to literature. If one looks closely they may find a phrase by Rimbaud delicately disguised into your weavings: “on ne part pas” (we are here forever). Yasunaga’s Empty Creatures series began when he welcomed his first child and dually experienced the loss of his grandmother. How did exhibiting alongside Yasunaga impact the use of text in your work?
Marie Hazard: "The loss of my father last year was a turning point in my work. I actually discovered Masaomi’s work three months after this happened and immediately felt incredibly connected to it. It impacted my practice. I found Masaomi’s treatment of the subject very subtle. It no felt longer tragic, but poetic. I was very attracted to this notion which also helped me refine my own work."
Sonya Tamaddon: In what ways has this dual exhibition with Masaomi Yasunaga shaped your work?
Marie Hazard: I think this dual presentation is a dialogue. I am so honored that Masaomi allowed me the freedom to respond to his recent work. The conversation that came out of it has been incredibly important for me. I would love to continue these dialogues with artists that I admire. I think this way of showing our work as artists is a very important way in which to help each other develop our practices. It makes me think of how weaver Olga de Amaral was inspired by ceramicist, Lucie Rie, and how her practice was immeasurably changed after they met.
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