uro-uro Exhibition

February 2023

Molded paper lighting, painted washi

Helen Lindhurst Gallery, Los Angeles CA

Stemming from Matsubara’s time spent in her ancestral homeland of Tottori Prefecture, Japan, uro-uro explores legacy, materiality and diasporic trajectories through a selection of molded and painted washi paper as well as photography and video documentation. As outgrowths of a two-month long apprenticeship with masters of the washi paper craft in Aoya Valley, Tottori, the exhibited materials act as shrines to Matsubara’s development of tactile knowledge and uncovering of cultural and familial ancestry.

Washi, or traditional Japanese paper, is primarily crafted from the long inner fibers of three plants - kozo, mitsumata and gampi. In contrast to the production of pulp-style paper, the time-intensive washi-making process gives rise to distinctive material and cultural properties that expand beyond Western notions of paper. The exhibited works arise from Matsubara’s time spent studying under washi-makers across three production sites in Aoya Valley - with the Hirotomi family at their home workshop, at the washi-making studio, Aoya Washi Kobou, and the washi wall paper factory, Daiinshu Seishi. The three spaces carry on the Valley’s centuries-old washi legacy from their distinct perspectives. Each maintains their own balance between tradition and innovation, from choosing to continue using traditional tools despite economic setbacks or alternately embracing modern machinery. Consistent across the three sites is a clear connection between washi production and place. Through a projected video montage, Matsubara explores the varying production processes as they build and sustain the community, connecting local nature to the stewardship of national and personal washi legacies.

uro-uro, so named after Matsubara’s practice of daily solo walking as a means of discovery in Tottori, references both the physical and internal grappling of her Japanese-American identity abroad. Matsubara’s ancestry in Tottori traces back centuries to priests and active members of the local Shinto faith. The course of the family shifted with the departure of her great-grandfather following his graduation from Aoya Agricultural High School in 1907. Her residency marked the conclusion of a two-generation absence from the region, symbolizing the precarious nature of a return to a foreign yet familiar country. 

Matsubara’s washi light sculptures are characterized by their 凸凹 (deko-boko) texture hand-molded from found materials in Tottori. The pictographic kanji characters, 凸凹, translate literally to convex and concave, reflecting the bumpy textures that characterize each piece. Partially inspired by her childhood memories of Ohmu, the enormous invertebrates of Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaä, the soft molded sculptures invoke feelings of living beings, connecting to the exhibition's exploration of how materials can carry human experience. Collectively, the works exhibited in uro-uro reflect the process of unearthing selfhood through object making.

This project would not be possible without the support of my parents, Laura Gardner and Hiroshi Matsubara. A special thank you to Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, Susumu Shio, Hiromi Yamasaki, Chiharu Hayashida, the Hirotomi Family, Taniguchi-San, Storm Bria-Rose Bookhard, Professor Jenny Lin, Costa Colachis Glass, Jack Aubry, Sarah Gardner and Jill D’Allesandro.

Text by Ana Matsubara
Edited by Strom Bria-Rose Bookhard
Photos by Alyssa Quiggley