Stations of the Tokaido Road
Tue 29 November to Sun 16 April 2017
Background
A selection of Japanese woodblock prints from the series that made Utagawa Hiroshige one of the best known of all Japanese artists.
Brief
Display this touring exhibition along with a Japanese triptych book from RAMM’s collection.
Requirements
Use existing design elements and develop a distinctive display. Ashmolean must be clearly credited.
Approach
The Ashmolean’s typeface was adopted to utilise glyphs in the font, allowing easy reproduction of certain diacritics.
Challenges
The series follows a particular journey – how to display these works without breaking up the flow?
Solution
A layout was devised that meant the works could be displayed along the outer walls, creating one continuous display. The colour scheme was inspired by Monet’s Dining Room in Giverny, France. Monet was an avid collector of Hiroshige’s prints and displayed them on a yellow wall. Research was undertaken to match the paint against photographic records. Interpretation employed a red elastic device that was used to annotate various aspects.
Outcomes
A strategically positioned Japanese-style banner (norobi) attracted visitors from across the main corridor. Giant map of Japan shows the route of the Tokaido, including all 55 points. Japanese-style (shoji) screens were built in-house to cover the gallery windows and add extra atmosphere.
Credits
Exhibition organised by Ashmolean.
Typeface: Foundry Sans
