Editing and design of catalogue for Juxtaposing Craft – an exhibition at Östasiatiska Museet, Stockholm, curated by Rebecca Ahlstedt and Anna Senno.

Juxtaposing Craft places hand-crafted historical objects from Japan side-by-side with objects from the Nordic countries. The exhibition celebrates the importance of craft as a valuable act in realising the interconnectedness between everything, a means to stimulate a renewed respect for nature. Juxtaposing craft traditions in Japan and the Nordic region is a method for revealing new knowledge of the past, raising questions of the present, and unravelling new propositions for the future. In a threefold exploration, we meet new work in dialogue with the historical collection by Rebecca Ahlstedt, Anna Senno and 1+1+1.

Reflecting the theme of the exhibition, the design juxtaposes traditional crafts of typography and bookmaking from the two regions, in search for more sustainable and holistic methods. The title typeface is inspired by the Japanese calligraphy approach, Shodu, which means ‘the way of writing’, and is understood as an expression of the mindful spirit of the calligrapher. This idea was contrasted with the lack of physical interaction in the design of typefaces today, which Stinsensqueeze challenged through an experimental process involving the movement of the whole body to generate a typeface.

The body copy is a digital version of what is supposedly the first Swedish national typeface Nordisk Antikva, Kumlien, with very thin strokes to minimise use of ink printed. The papers juxtapose handmade Japanese washi papers and Swedish environmentally conscious papers from Lessebo paper mill. The structure of the catalogue was formed to use as little material as possible, bound with only two staples, and a fold that unfurls to create juxtapositions between image and text. All colours are sourced from different soils, such as burnt umbra and terra.