Description

On the Other Side of Touch presents a poem written by the artist translated into Japanese. The characters are made of cast paper and installed on the wall. The poem reads:

手が触っているのとは別の側の
言葉の影で
昔の詩が待っている

[Original English version]
On the other side of touch
in the shadow of words
an old poem waits.


On the Other Side of Touch présente un poème de l’artiste traduit en japonais. Les caractères sont réalisés en papier moulé et installés sur le mur. Le poème se lit comme suit :

À l’ombre des mots
de l’autre côté du toucher
un vieux poème attend

Traduction du poème : Karen Trask, 2014, Traduction du texte : Mélissa Guay, 2025


Statement

On the Other Side of Touch is one of a series of poetry works created during a Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec research and creation residency in Tokyo. Exploring poetry and calligraphy and their relationship to paper, as well as various techniques for manipulating paper, such as Shifu (making a thread from a page of paper) were the focus of the residency.

The poem was translated from French into Japanese by Masashi Ogura. Through moulding techniques, the words of the poems take physical form in paper – washi made from kozo, the main plant used to produce handmade paper in Japan.


On the Other Side of Touch fait partie d’une série d’œuvres de poésie créées lors d’une résidence de recherche et de création du Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec à Tokyo. L’exploration de la poésie et de la calligraphie et de leur relation avec le papier, ainsi que diverses techniques de manipulation du papier, telles que le Shifu (fabrication d’un fil à partir d’une page de papier), ont été au cœur de la résidence.

Le poème a été traduit du français au japonais par Masashi Ogura. Grâce à des techniques de moulage, les mots des poèmes prennent une forme physique dans le papier – washi fabriqué à partir de kozo, la principale plante utilisée pour produire du papier fait à la main au Japon.

Karen Trask, 2014, Traduction du text : Mélissa Guay, 2025



Exhibition History

May 23 – June 15, 2014
Description

For her solo exhibition, Kami no Kotoba, Paper Words, Karen Trask presented six sculptural works. All but one of the works was created during the artist’s research and creation residency at the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec studio in Tokyo. The focus of her residency was the exploration of poetry and calligraphy and their relationship with paper, as well as various techniques for manipulating paper, such as Shifu (making a paper thread out of a sheet). This exhibition is a response to that research.

Poetry is at the heart of the exhibition. Four poems by Karen Trask have been translated from French and English into Japanese by Masashi Ogura. With the help of moulding techniques, the words of the poems take physical form in paper – washi made from kozo, the main plant used to produce handmade paper in Japan. The only work that was not created in Japan is a dictionary, completely remade from spun paper.

Statement

For the works Kami no Kotoba, Paper Words I was interested in exploring where language comes from, the origin and evolution of written and spoken words and positing language is a living organism.

Karen Trask, 2025