This school holidays drop by and meet Melbourne Now artist Jenna Lee and Japanese lantern maker, Shinya Takeda of Kojima Shōten in Community Hall. Learn about how they collaborated to create their installation, Balarr (To become light) 2023 while taking part in drawing activities. Shinya will demonstrate the skills and techniques used to create a Japanese lantern while Jenna discusses the layers of meaning in the making and the symbols referenced on the lanterns.

About Jenna Lee

Jenna Lee is a Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and Karajarri Saltwater woman with Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Anglo-Australian ancestry. Lee’s practice builds on the foundation of her father’s teachings of culture and her mother’s teachings of papercraft. Represented by MARS Gallery in Melbourne, she has exhibited in Australia and internationally, including at the Pitt Rivers Museum in the United Kingdom, the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, and Institute of Modern Art, QUT Art Gallery and Griffith University Art Gallery in Brisbane. Lee has been the recipient of the Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award at the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards and the Australia Council’s Dreaming Award.

About Kojima Shōten

Kojima Shōten has been making traditional paper lanterns in Kyoto since the Edo period (1603–1868). Known for their strength and durability, today their lanterns are made by hand from paper and bamboo by brothers Syun and Ryo Kojima, and their father Mamoru. Lee worked closely with Shinya Takeda, coordinator of international business, over a period of 2 years to realise the collaboration. While Kojima Shōten traditional lanterns have adorned temples and shrines in Japan for more than two centuries, they have also collaborated with contemporary brands like Supreme, nendo, Four Seasons, Uniqlo and Tokyo23.