Akiko Suzuki, Japan, is an award-winning fiber artist whose practice has pioneered the forward movement of the Contemporary Art Quilt. Most recently, in 2015, Akiko was awarded the Quilt Nihon Exhibition’s Reiko Sudo Award in Japan. Surprisingly, Japan’s introduction to the Western traditional quilt took place only in the 1970s, adding another layer to the rich tapestry of Asian interpretations of functional and ornamental fiber works.
Copy the invisible universe onto the skin of cloth sewing sounds that otherwise cannot be heard to share my poetry with you with scissors, thread, needle and sewing machine and continue this creative impulse till the end of the world. Akiko Suzuki
Akiko will be exhibiting one of her latest projects, The Dada Quilt, at the 2016 San Francisco International Arts Festival from May 19 through June 5. This 5 x 32 ft quilt is a collaborative effort of hundreds of fragments collected from Global Art Project(GAP)members around the world.
HAF: I had the pleasure of meeting Akiko in Lecce, Italy in 2015 during the GAP III workshop/exhibition. Akiko is one of the 6 founding members of GAP and continues to share with the world her unique approach to quilt making. It was an amazing experience to watch Akiko transform traditional sewing/embroidery materials into magic. Akiko, what is the significance of The Turning Sound of The Earth no.1, the piece you entered in HAF 46: peace healing magic show last year?
Akiko: I made the piece inspired by Grapefruit, an artist’s book written by Yoko Ono. She said “imagine” in the book. In reality, she imagined foods when she was child during the Second War; she was always hungry because there wasn’t any food in Japan. And she said, “but now people are hungry for something other than food(of course, I know there are many hungry people in the world now).” John Lennon made the song, Imagine, inspired by her book. ‘Imagine’ is the key word for changing the world that Yoko gave to John. I love the word ‘imagine.’ I always imagine what I hope for. Then I can hear the turning sound of the Earth, and I can go to the country on the opposite side of the Earth. I can see the people there, and I can feel their love. We all have the imagination that will allow us to free ourselves.
