In 1896, the first Japanese Consulate in Australia was established in Townsville, where there was a large community of around 4000 Japanese migrant workers. They were drawn to this area by harvesting industries, including pearl and sugar cane.
This history will be intricately mapped out in an exhibition by artist Elysha Rei using hand-cut washi paper at Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts in June.
白砂糖 と 真珠 – Shirozatō to Shinju (White Sugar and Pearls) is born from a long-term project that Rei embarked upon as part of a National Archives of Australia Postgraduate scholarship. The result is a series of historically-informed storytelling through the delicate medium.
“I’ve approached each work to represent a piece of history that I wasn’t aware of before,” Rei tells ArtsHub. “I’ve tried to represent different communities within that history – everybody from those pearl divers to sugar cane farmers, but also the women who were really underrepresented.”
Instead of featuring actual faces or figures, Rei has adopted different motifs through mastery of the craft. She gives one particular example.
”There’s a piece that represents the very first Japanese person to be registered in Australia, Sakuragawa Rikinosuke – he was actually an acrobat,” Rei explains. “His surname translates to ‘cherry blossom river’, so in the work I’ve created a beautiful hand-cut washi cherry blossom branch and placed a string on the wall so it looks like it’s being pulled on a tightrope, paying homage to Sakuragawa.”
When asked how her medium spoke to this history, Rei says, “With most work that I do, I’m trying to approach it in two different ways: I like to make work that is very obviously hand-crafted and lures people in with the craftsmanship; and then creating space for people to engage with histories that they may not have come across before, or might find difficult to engage with. Hopefully that creates an emotional reaction to this history so visitors are not just intellectualising it, they’re feeling it.”
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Consul-General of Japan, Ishikawa Katsutoshi, congratulated Rei on her work in a media statement: “Elysha’s meticulous hand-cut washi paper artworks beautifully capture the essence of the Japanese migrant workers’ experiences, their contributions to the sugar cane and pearl industries, and the enduring legacy of Japanese-Australian relations. Her work not only honours the past but also bridges our shared histories, fostering deeper understanding and appreciation between our cultures.
”As Consul-General of Japan, I am deeply moved by the themes of cultural identity, memory, and place that are so thoughtfully explored in this exhibition. It is through such artistic endeavours that we continue to celebrate and preserve the rich tapestry of our intertwined histories,” he concluded.
白砂糖 と 真珠 – Shirozatō to Shinju (White Sugar and Pearls) opens at Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, Townsville, on 13 June, with public programs running alongside the exhibition until 27 July.
