Today, S-AIR hosted the second salmon skin workshop. Under the expert tuition of an Ainu instructor we learned how to transform salmon skins into supple white leather. After a short demonstration he quickly got us to do the work (especially the two boys in the group) while he supervised with a very dignified air.

So how does Ainu fish-leather-making work? The salmon skins are rolled up and laid in a groove cut into a massive wooden block. Under constant turning, they are then hammered with a large wooden mallet until they are soft. They are then ‘broken’ further in another wooden contraption before the scales can be removed with tweezers or pliers. Et voila - salmon skin leather.

Normally, it takes two days of relentless pummeling before the salmon skins are supple enough to be used for clothing. I think everyone who took part will remember the favourite words of our otherwise monosyllabic instructor for a long long time: “mada mada” [phonetic spelling, probably quite wrong], which translates as “Not yet, not yet” - or more to the point: “Get on with it!”.

To reward everyone for their hard labour we concluded the workshop with drinks and a feast of European and Japanese salmon dishes, followed by a screening of German short films from the Sapporo Short Film Festival showreel.

Our instructor shows how it is done.

Salmon skin about to be pummeled into submission

Mada mada!

Get on with it!

Top: unprocessed salmon skin; bottom left: softened skin, scales partially removed; bottom right: the finished salmon skin leather.

Detail of softened salmon skin, scales partially removed.

The workshop participants tuck into a well-earned dinner.

Today I was invited to speak about my work and experiences as an S-AIR artist in residence to students and staff at Sapporo City University. The talk is part of a lecture series organised by S-AIR, the ICC and the university and was filmed by the media art students of the filmmaker duo Nina Fischer and Maroan el Sani. It was great to be able to present my work to a non-Western audience and respond to their questions. A big thank you for the invitation and also to my untiring interpreter Rie Watanabe, without whose linguistic expertise I would have been quite lost.

Mon 12th - Fri 16th of February 2007
Concept Workshop, taught by Gero Grundmann and Julia Lohmann

Sponsored and organised by the British Council in Athens and the Vakalo School of Design the workshop brought together students and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines. Graphic designers, architects, interiour designers and artists all looked at the hidden lives of objects and the stories they tell. The outcomes will be presented in an exhibition at Vakalo School of Design.