Artist in Residence at the Textile Centre Haslach
Report by Tomoyo Tsurumi
05.08 – 15.08.2025
During my residency at the Textile Center Haslach, I set out to develop a project that reflects the story of the land itself. For me, this always begins with research not only into materials or techniques, but into the land as a living archive. I often describe my process as “research of the land,” allowing geography, history, atmosphere, and environment to guide the direction of the work.
The environment of Haslach and of the Textile Center itself allowed me to explore this theme across multiple layers. In Haslach, the relationship between landscape and textile is not only historical but ongoing. The land and its material culture have shaped each other over generations, forming a silent yet powerful dialogue between making and place. In this expanded framework, the archive exists in multiple forms.
There is the physical archive the historical textiles preserved at the Haslach Textile Center. These include household linens, damasks, piqué fabrics, and industrial jacquards, offering insight into the aesthetic, social, and economic history of the Mühlviertel region. But beyond the physical, I also draw from what I consider the environmental archive: the shifting qualities of light, the rhythm of daily life, the movement of bodies through space, seasonal changes, the textures of architecture, and the imprints left in both natural and built surfaces. These elements, though often undocumented, hold memory and meaning.
My research began with the book Textil-Landschaft Mühlviertel by Bernhard Heindl, which I encountered at the Textile Center. This publication served as an initial bridge – connecting the region’s textile history with a broader view of how landscape and material culture shape one another. Inspired by this, I began tracing both documented and undocumented narratives, experimenting with structure and material in ways that respond directly to the present landscape. At the heart of Textil-Landschaft is this expanded understanding of the archive not only as a static repository of preserved artifacts, but as a living, breathing presence embedded in the land itself.
Through material and structural experimentation, I explored the idea of translucency and density. By working with floating structures and enlarged weave patterns, I investigated how subtle shifts in structure could emphasize or respond to environmental factors such as light and shadow. These interventions created delicate visual translations̶textiles that react to their surroundings rather than dominate them. The results are intentionally quiet, inviting contemplation rather than attention. Rather than imposing fixed ideas or aesthetic preferences onto the place, I sought to extract from it gently, intuitively, and respectfully. Through long walks, conversations, and silent observations, I gathered impressions that could never be stored in folders or drawers, yet were equally vital. These subtle experiences formed the quiet logic behind the visual language I developed.
In this way, the project resists linear narratives or nostalgic re-creations of the past. Instead, Textil-Landschaft engages in a layered, open-ended dialogue between material and immaterial, between what is seen and what is sensed. It treats textile not only as a medium for making, but also as a medium for remembering, for feeling, and for holding space for that which is silent, fleeting, or forgotten.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Haslach Textile Center and its team for their generous support and for providing such a rich and layered context in which this project could unfold. With the kindest technical and archival support of Elisabeth Stötzler, Andreas Selzer, and Christina Leitner, I was able to access invaluable materials and insights that deeply informed both the conceptual and material development of Textil-Landschaft. Their knowledge, openness, and generosity greatly contributed to the depth and direction of this work.
Contact:
email : tomoyotsurumi@gmail.com
instagram: @tomoyotsurumi_
