A RARE exhibition of fine art photography printed on Japanese “washi” paper opened at Manning Clark House on the weekend.

Photographs by Colin Abbott, Kirsten Bowers, Judith Crispin, Michael Coyne, Andrew Chapman, Greg Elms, Lewis Hine, Kallena Kucers, Dorothea Lange, Neil McLeod, David Marks, Julie Millowick, Sean O’Carroll, Victor Pugatschew, John Street, Benjamin, Jacob and Michael Silver, and Greer Versteeg were displayed around the central living room of the house, some on opaque walls, some on a table and some hanging on the windows, with the afternoon light filtering through the autumn trees to cast shadows on the photographs.

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The show was opened by the new Japanese cultural attaché Masayuki Aoki, who was introduced by Manning Clark House’s Sebastian Clark, saying he imagined that an exhibition like this would be giving his late parents, if they could see it, “a good deal of pleasure”.

Mr Aoki, making his first official speech since arriving in Canberra, told those at the opening that he came from Gifu City in the region noted for fine paper made by hand in the traditional manner.

He described the fibres from the gampi tree and the mitsumata shrub traditionally used for washi, and indicated several objects in the room – a kite, an umbrella and a paper lantern that had been all produced using washi.

Tracing the history of fine paper, he explain that the word “washi” came from two words, “wa” for Japan and “shi” for paper.

Additionally, the Japanese word “kami” could mean either paper or the gods, suggesting a spiritual aspect to papermaking.

Brought to Japan from China in around 610AD, paper was initially used for Buddhist scriptures, but it was quickly picked up by the Shinto religion too.

Although these days most paper was made by mechanical means, Mr Aoki said there were still several hundred families in his region producing the light, translucent and highly flexible paper on which the photographs in this exhibition had been printed.

Susanne Silver, co-owner of Melbourne’s Photonet Gallery which printed and presented the photographs on exhibition, said she had been introduced to washi paper by the poet, composer and photographer Judith Crispin, who, by no coincidence at all, is the director of Manning Clark House.

Silver praised the beauty of the paper and the exciting photographic works on show.

Photonet Gallery presents Washi, photographs printed on Japanese papers, at Manning Clark House,11 Tasamania Circle, Forrest, May 27 to June 9. Inquiries to 6295 1808.