[GALLERY] The 14th special exhibition "Tamtam and the Toilet" will be held from April 29th
HARALBONY GALLERY will be holding an exhibition of "Tamtam and Circulating Toile," a new clothing creation project jointly launched by 18 members of the Tamtamsha Nakayama Kobo welfare facility in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, photographer and artist Ayako Nakamura, and Shingo Matsuda of the Toile Reuse Project.
Approximately 40 toile pieces, each full of the individuality of the artist, will be on display at the HARALBONY GALLERY in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. Please feel free to enjoy TamTam's works through toile by looking at, touching, and sewing them.
*What is "toile"? It is a sample of clothing made to check the design and size when making clothes.
> Gallery page here
■ Exhibition Overview: "Tamtam and the Toilet"
Dates: Saturday, April 29th - Sunday, May 28th, 2023
Time: 11:00-18:00
Opening days: Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays *The gallery will be open on May 1st (Monday) and May 2nd (Tuesday) If you would like to visit on other weekdays, please contact us via the chat on our website. Venue: HARALBONY GALLERY
Address: 4F @HOMEDELUX Building, 2-38 Kaiunbashi-dori, Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, 020-0026
Website: https://store.heralbony.jp/pages/heralbonygallery-iwate
Participating artists: Ikumi, Shogo Kimura, Iku Kudo, Seitaro Takeuchi, Daisuke Katayose, Masataka Watanabe, Naoki Watanabe (Tamu Tamusha Nakayama Studio)
■ "Tamtam and the Circling Toilet"
"Toile" is a design sample garment. When making clothing, this toile is made before the actual garment is made. However, it is also a garment that people do not usually see, as it is thrown away once its purpose is over. "Isn't there a more fun way to use toile that has not been thrown away until now?" Matsuda Shingo of TADFUR Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based company that remakes fur, was wondering about this. Then, the mysterious and interesting photographer Nakamura Ayako appeared. Nakamura, who was about to cover art brut in Tohoku, thought, "Something interesting might happen if I combine the toile from Matsuda Shingo's company with the friends from Tamutamusha," and so he combined the two. This was the beginning of the toile reuse project "Tamutam and the Circulating Toile." https://tamutamutoile.tumblr.com/ 
■Another enjoyment of the special exhibition
We will be selling a photo book documenting the two-year activities of "Tam Tam and the Tour of Toilet" and items from Tam Tamsha Nakayama Studio's own brand "tam tam dot." Take a look at the products, including pouches and socks with the artist's drawings printed on rice bags, and hand towels made in collaboration with Sendai's oldest dyeing factory, "Takeda Dye Factory."
■Photo book "Tamtam and Toilet Travels" 
2,750 yen (tax included) A5 size / 108 pages
A record of two years of encounters with works painted on toile, a "wearable canvas," and the process of creating them
Photo: Nakamura Ayako
Toilet production and life: Tamutamusha
■ "tam tam dot"
While listening to music and chatting, the members draw "circles" freely on a large piece of paper. The original drawings were created by Tam Tam Nakayama Studio, and their own brand is "tam tam dot."
■ "Tamu Tamusha Nakayama Studio"
A welfare facility for disabled members. Type B business that supports continued employment. Aiming to realize a society where everyone can live together, as a place to work together, we create opportunities for productive activities according to each individual and create an environment that enhances social life skills.
http://tamutamu.jp/
■Participating Artist Profiles (Partial List) 
Ikumi
She likes to collaborate with many people, and engages in dance, recitation, collage, etc. In 2015, she discovered toile (clothing) as a material. Since working on the toile piece "Rain" in May 2016, she has been cutting felt into round shapes and pasting them onto toile every day. When she attends workshops, it is her job to point out any staff members who have taken a wrong turn. When it comes to her favorite military commander, "there are too many to choose." Her hobby is reading (history-related). 
Ikuru Kudo
In 2015, I started to draw pictures of my favorite trains using acrylic paints. During breaks from my normal work, I would open timetables and train magazines and look at pictures of trains I wanted to draw next. In addition to trains, I like idols, Gundam, and the Rakuten Golden Eagles, and I also like showing my drawings to people. In creating toiles, I created new forms of expression using both collage and acrylic paints. I met so many people through the toile projects. 
Shotaro Takeuchi
He is always the first to arrive, and every day at Tam Tamsha begins with his greeting. At tam tam dot, he only lined up small circles, but since he started making toile, he has started to look at the whole garment and make use of the white space. He uses paints, crayons, and pencils to create highly designed toiles. He only occasionally forgets the names of people he has met once.
