For over a decade, artist-in- residence programs have been held by myriad organizations throughout Japan, all with roughly the same objective: to provide a unique and mutually enlightening experience for the both visiting artist and host. One of the latest residencies held at Tokyo Wonder Site might go the closest yet to attaining that goal.
Since 2006, American artists Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry — partners in work and life — have been creating a series of works called "Whitewash." The pieces consist of black and white paintings based on iconic news photographs from the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. Over the paintings, the artists hang a layer of silk fabric on which they have printed the original photograph.
"The photographic layer forms a factual layer, and the painting forms an interpretative layer," explains Tarry. Importantly, the two never match perfectly, because the photograph is slightly larger than the painting.