Mack Jost Bequest, 2001oil on paper on board

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mack Jost, 1995oil on canvas

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mack Jost, 1998oil on board

Gift of Mack Jost, 1994watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 2000watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 1988watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 1994ink and watercolour on paper

Mack Jost Bequest, 2001watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 2000watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 2000watercolour on paper

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 2006oil on canvaswimmera related

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mack Jost, 1989watercolour on paper

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mack Jost, 1988watercolour on paper

Gift of Mack Jost, 1987watercolour on paper

Gift of the artist, 2003lithograph on Lana Gravure paper

Gift of the artist, 2003etching on Somerset paper

Gift of the artist, 2003etching on Somerset paper

Gift of the Julie Millowick Acquistive Award, 2007C-type photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 2007C-type photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 2020silver gelatin photographs

Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by an anonymous donor, 2023C-type photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 1996silver gelatin photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 1979silver gelatin photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 1979silver gelatin photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 2008hand printed C-type photograph

Purchased through the Horsham Art Gallery Trust Fund, 2008hand printed C-type photograph

Gift of Jeff and Jill Jenkinson, 2007silver albumen photograph on card

‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ was an exhibition that toured to 10 Australian and 11 New Zealand public galleries in 1979 and 1980. The touring exhibition comprised 221 objects of traditional Japanese packaging which extended from ceramics, wood and paper to woven fibre containers. At the conclusion of the tour, The Japan Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council donated the vast majority of the exhibition to the Ararat Gallery for its permanent collection. Combining the natural qualities of bamboo, paper and straw with delicate craftsmanship, these unique objects express Japanese aesthetics as applied through fibre crafts. In Japan, the qualities and traits of natural materials are exploited rather than hidden. The texture of straw, the septa of bamboo are not concealed but lovingly incorporated into the whole. In 1979 Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ wrote: “In no way self-conscious or assertive, these wrappings have an artless and obedient air that greatly moves the modern viewer. They are whispered evidence of the Japanese ability to create beauty from the simplest products of nature. They also teach us that wisdom and feeling are especially important in packaging because these qualities, or the lack of them, are almost immediately apparent. What is the use of a package if it shows no feeling?” The descriptions of the featured objects were written by Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’, 1979.Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981Another Kyoto confection, a kind of sweetened rice paste, is simply but strikingly wrapped in a package marked with its name (uiro) in vigorously written characters. Simplicity could hardly be carried further, but, as seen in this ensemble of three separate packages, the effect is altogether engaging. - Professor Hideyuki Oka, curator.japanese art, japanese packaging, tsutsumi, gift giving