Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia

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Phaptawan Suwannakudt, "Three Worlds 9," 2009

The exhibition opening takes place on Thursday, May 11 at 7 pm and is free to the public.

Honouring the special significance that written forms hold across many diverse cultures in Asia, the multimedia exhibition will examine the physical traces of words – spoken and recorded – that are unique to humans. From Sumerian cuneiform inscriptions and Qu’ranic manuscripts, to Chinese calligraphy and Afghan graffiti, the texts in many styles evoke both the ephemeral and eternal.

“All creatures leave traces of themselves as they move through life; but words, whether spoken, written, imagined, or visualized, are traces unique to humans,” explains Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura, MOA Curator, Asia. “Some words disappear, while others remain only in memory or leave physical traces as writing or text. These traces are the theme of the exhibition. In it, we explore the powerful duality that emerges when the written word becomes a medium or canvas.”

Traces of Words will take place in the Audain Gallery at MOA where contemporary artworks and Islamic calligraphic works from the Aga Khan Museum will be shared. Other supplementary exhibitions include highlights from the museum’s Asian collection displayed in MOA’s Multiversity Galleries; and throughout the month of May, a satellite exhibition at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC will display Asian materials from the UBC Library Collections.

The combined exhibition represents an enormous diversity of calligraphy, painting, digital and mixed media works. Through paper, silk, clay, woodblock and digital projections, Traces of Words invites viewers to experience and sense the works, and gain an appreciation for the cultural significance of Asian writing beyond reading and writing. 

“Viewing and feeling these works is like listening to songs in a foreign language we may not understand,” explains Dr. Nakamura. “We can still appreciate them precisely because there is more to them than the meaning of the lyrics.”

In addition to showcasing written-words-turned-art across Asian cultures and eras, the exhibition aims to reconsider the place of words and writing in an era when the physical trace of words is often obscured by continuous waves of digital media. The exhibition also explores how words mediate our first encounters with different cultures when they appear incomprehensible (i.e. ‘It’s all Greek to me’).

The full list of contemporary artists whose work will be displayed within Traces of Words and will be making their Canadian deut include Phaptawan Suwannakudt (b. Thailand, 1959), Afghani graffiti artist Shamsia Hassani (b. Iran, 1988), mixed-media creator Nortse (b. Norbu Tsering, Lhasa, 1963), calligraphers Kimura Tsubasa(b. Osaka, 1978) and Kyoto’s Yugami Hisao (b. Kyoto, 1976), as well as Tokyo’s interdisciplinary group of “ultra technologists”, teamLab. Two works from the Aga Khan Museum will also be showcased, as well as highlights from MOA’s Asian collection including calligraphy by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.

The exhibition is expertly curated by socio-cultural anthropologist Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura, who joined MOA as its Curator for Asia in April 2014. She specializes in the anthropology of art, museum studies and the material and visual cultures, especially of Asia. She has taught in the graduate schools at the University of Oxford, the Australian National University, and University of Tokyo. She is a published author, the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and most recently curated MOA’s highly-celebrated (In)visible: The Spiritual World of Taiwan through Contemporary Art (2015-2016). 

Traces of Words will feature works by international artists making their Canadian debut: Shamsia Hassani, Kimura Tsubasa, Yugami Hisao, Nortse, Phaptawan Suwannakudt, and teamLab. The exhibit will also showcase two works from the Aga Khan Museum, as well as highlights from MOA’s Asian collection including calligraphy by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen.