Project 3 - Finished Piece and Reflection

This is my final piece as I have set it up in the atrium of G-Block, NMIT.
I am very pleased with how the table cloths have turned out, I was worried they would be too strong for the piece, but instead they have merely drawn a better distinction between the two cultures. I would have preferred to have them both of the same fabric, and to have sewn them together to make them more like a table cloth, and less like two flags draped over the table, for actual flags are much more symbolically powerful than a tablecloth that has two flag patterns on it. However, having one table cloth would also strengthen the idea that even

 though the tea rituals from each culture are completely different, they still have common links, like that both are considered important in their culture, and both are based around this one drink that comes from the same basic plant. I searched for a Japanese flag from the same company the produced the Union flag, but could not locate one in Nelson or on any online New Zealand based stores, and did not have time to order one from over seas by the time I had decided to try flags for tablecloths. I also did not have the time nor the skills to screen print both the flags, so for now the flags do not match fabric and print

 technique-wise.
Both the tea sets looked authentic, and over the passed week I have had many comments from other students, tutors and visitors to the building. Many people recognised the tea set on half the table (mainly the British half) as familiar to them, and some even implied they felt a connection to it, whether it was something they grew up with, or something that reminded them of their mother, it was special to them. At least two people hit the concept, or at least part of it, dead on when they commented on how the table looked like it was set up for two people from different cultures to

have a conversation with each other, but since there were no people there it seemed more like the two cultures themselves having a conversation. One person said they found it interesting because it displayed two totally different settings from different cultures that were both kind of the same thing.

If I had had the money or resources I would have liked to have two mats under the table too, also from the corresponding cultures, as a way of creating a space around the piece that was part of the piece, but also gave people an area to avoid if they weren't looking specifically at the piece to reduce risk of breaking anything.