TrAIN

TrAIN Core Member - Research Fellow

I was born and educated in the UK and after studying for a BA in Three Dimensional Design at Bristol Polytechnic I spent two years as a research student at Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan. After leaving the university I lived in Japan for a further 4 years working in my studio and exhibiting while researching traditional crafts such as papermaking and Japanese woodblock. I was also taught woodblock by Professor Kurosaki Akira and I continue to research and teach the technique. I have published two books on the subject; Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001) and Japanese Popular Prints (2006).

My next area of research is to investigate the links between popular belief, pilgrimage and print in Japanese society from the Edo period to the present day with a particular focus on the senshafudakai (votive slip associations).

I am currently compiling an archive of filmed interviews with craftsmen involved in Japanese woodblock – carvers, printers, brush makers, tool makers etc. The number of people involved in the technique is in decline and so the objective is to record as many surviving craftsmen as possible. The project is funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation and runs until 2008. The unedited films will be lodged with a UK museum as a resource for future reference.

In my own practice I am working towards an exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art, as well as one person shows in London and New York.

Links

• Research Staff Profile : Camberwell College of Arts
• Rebecca Salter's website