Maya Kitakado Cannon
Garnier & Linker's work on washi paper began with their first trips to Japan. Fascinated by the simple beauty of paper, their research had until then focused on finishing it with gold or platinum leaf or with urushi lacquer.
"The idea of intervening in the very making of paper to give it a relief or a color had become an obsession," Garnier & Linker says.
Until the day when, thanks to social media, a meeting occurred with a Japanese artist living in the United States. From her artistic journey between Japan and the United States, Maya Kitakado Cannon has specialized in the work of printing and paper, especially of its making at the Awagami factory in Tokushima.
At this workshop, now run by the 6th generation and whose current director has been nominated as a National Treasure of Japan, raw material is harvested, processed by hand, and formed into sheets using traditional techniques. Maya has been experimenting with papermaking interventions that will serve as a basis for joint work with Garnier & Linker.
The collaborative work began in 2020: "around the start of the pandemic in 2020, a lovely message from Garnier and Linker led to an opportunity to share ideas and begin to experiment with our combined visions. After transforming a corner of my home to a paper studio during the lockdown, our long-distance collaboration commenced!" summarizes Maya.
"Handling natural fibers and tapping into a history of sustainable and cyclical ways of making, leads to exciting and unpredictable discoveries along the way."
Maya Kitakado Cannon
