Untitled (Flowers)
Fiber (yarn, threads, natural dye from flower)
approx. 8.5 x 14 in, 2020
The pandemic this year made me reflect a lot more on ephemerality. So I created the main weaving structure, leaving gaps in between to show how fragile life is. Also, I am inspired by the way flowers bloom and decay and found them a representation of transience embodied in living beings. Hence I printed petals onto the fabric, creating stains that would remain as their trace of life. I also used embroidering and felting techniques to add textural variations. Under good lighting, the work offers a false sense of toughness; while in complete darkness, even a beam of light could reveal its hollowness. It could be viewed as an unfolding map of life, that it flows and stops, and extends to places no one would expect. What I seek to capture in this fungi-like, ghostly work is probably a quote of Eileen Chang—“Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice."
