Gallery East’s Perth International Arts Festival’s exhibition, ‘Kimono as Canvas’, gives a refreshing look at this garment on many levels. The information sheet that accompanies the exhibition tells us that: "For nearly 500 years, the ‘T-shape’ format of the kimono has provided a broad, flat, straight-edged expanse capable of being transformed into a canvas by Japanese textile artists". This was the starting point for Gallery East to commission thirteen contemporary fibre and textile artists to create a work inspired by the kimono form. The challenge was well met on most counts, with the most successful works being those that were merely suggestive of the kimono and not actual garments to be worn.

One of the most notable features in the show is the contrast in the manner by which Japanese artists Hiroyuki Shindo (Ra - summer kimono in very fine ‘Shibori’ in indigo dye) and Koji Takaki (Ma - a kimono in wood block and silk screen print in a range of greys) treated the brief, with the more stylised treatment by the Australian artists. Moira Douropolous’ Memorial of Memoires - strips of fine voile dyed in the shibori technique, floating like gossamer on its stand are a fine foil for Margaret Ainscow’s Yin-Yen Kimono. This piece has appliqued lettering (white on a dark grey background) that suggests a contrast and abstraction of language in the shape of a ‘T’ (the basic shape of the kimono). Ann Farren’s Opulence, a piece constructed with silk-screened and gold-leafed bonded fabric is suggestive of the rich wedding kimonos worn in Japan, while Liz Williamson’s structure, Undulate, woven in a variety of different yarns, creates the illusion of heaviness and solidity.

Opportunities to find cross-references between the works in this homogenous show abound making this show a joy to visit. Janey Matthews’ Meditation & Reflection, made with devoré and pleated fabric, reflects the fine shibori textures of Hiroyuki Shindo’s kimono, while Barbara Roger’s Healing Waters picks up the fineness and texture of Moira Douropolous’ work. The abstract shapes of Koji Takaki’s Ma are reflected in Keiko Amenomori Schmeisser’s Towards the First Fold. This last piece is the most abstract interpretation of the kimono in the show. On second thoughts, it may be suggestive of the Obi, the elaborate waistband that is worn with the kimono.

Perhaps the strength of the show is the treatment of the kimono on a cross-cultural level. The Australian artists, bar one or two, did not attempt to make traditional kimonos of their works ? they created works that developed from the concept of a traditional garment using shapes and techniques as points of reference. To me this reflects a growth in cultural sensitivity in our society with respect for objects from other traditions doing away with the necessity to appropriate all aspects of their traditional making. While one may argue that appropriation of techniques and styles is a hallmark of globalisation, this exhibition shows the notion of appropriation in a more sensitive context than most.