Juxtaposing Craft

Juxtaposing Craft is a series of encounters between designers and craft artists in the Nordic countries and Japan. We juxtapose knowledge of the handmade and look into the process of making in relation to the time and space in which it takes place in order to investigate possibilities of sustainable materialism. Based on the study of objects and craftsmanship, we encircle the perception of time and space – its social, existential and non-linear dimensions.

History and stories lay embedded in objects, in craft techniques and in aesthetic expressions. We juxtapose these with new applications and propositions of translation. From these multi-layered stories an idea of how the world intrinsically is connected can be shown from the very makings of our hands.

The material investigations proceed in a close interplay and dialogue with historical museum collections. This implies drawing inspiration from them but also to critically revisit their representations and narratives within a museal institutional context.

We initiated Juxtaposing Craft in 2018 and premier this traveling exhibition in 2022 at Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities - part of The National Museums of World Culture, Sweden as a multi-chaptered exhibition with both new objects and existing collections of traditional and historical craft objects.