Exhibition | SEIREN 靜練 by Raphaella Wu [Tea Residency]

SEIREN 靜練 is an ongoing project by Raphaella Wu, exploring textiles, craft, and the relationships that emerge through travel and encounters with artisans. The name SEIREN also echoes the Japanese term 精練 — the process through which cloth is refined and prepared.

Each textile arrives with a history of its own. Banshu-ori from Hyogo, shaped through a long tradition of clothing and everyday use, carries the softness and lightness of cotton. Damask textiles from Fukui, by contrast, emerged from a different relationship between cloth, craft, and space — appearing in tea settings, tea utensils, and scroll mountings, where sheen, shadow, texture, and the movement of light across the surface become part of how the fabric is experienced.

Although both are textiles, their atmosphere and presence differ greatly depending on the land and purpose from which they emerged.

When these textiles take the form of shoes, they enter another life: no longer only something to be seen, but something worn, moved with, and carried from place to place. The form changes, while traces and memories of where the cloth comes from remain.

First presented in Kyoto, SEIREN 靜練 now continues its journey to Helsinki.

The textiles are encountered through travel, and through shoes, they begin to travel again.

The exhibition runs from September 9th to 13th, with a special opening Tea Ceremony by Ichiko Horiguchi on the 9th 17:00. Please RSVP separately.

ABOUT RAPHAELLA WU

Based between Taiwan and Kyoto, Raphaella Wu’s work grows from an interest in textiles and craft.

Through travel, she visits textile regions and makers, learning about local materials and techniques and bringing these encounters into her projects and exhibitions.