Description

Sometimes a Bridge presents a poem written by the artist in English and translated to Japanese. The letters and characters are installed on the floor. They are made of cast paper, each raised off the floor with a tripod of pins. The Japanese text runs vertically through the horizontal English text, which reads: Some days a wall / some days a bridge / the words between us.


Sometimes a Bridge présente un poème écrit par l’artiste en anglais et traduit en japonais. Les lettres et les caractères sont installés sur le sol. Elles sont faites de papier coulé, chacune surélevée du sol par un trépied d’épingles. Le texte japonais traverse verticalement le texte anglais horizontal, qui se lit comme suit : Some days a wall / some days a bridge / the words between us.

 


Statement

Sometimes a Bridge 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 was 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.


Sometimes a Bridge fait partie d’une série d’œuvres poétiques 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 les différentes techniques de manipulation du papier ont été au centre 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 : 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