Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision
15 March - 13 July
FreeEVENT DESCRIPTION
CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) is thrilled to announce its upcoming programmes during Art March, featuring: Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision, a major group exhibition exploring the intersections between traditional crafts, folk art and contemporary creations; a special display reflecting on Hong Kong’s commercial craft production history titled Busy Needles – Textile Embellishments of Hong Kong; a showcase of objects and archival materials from CHAT Collection in Artefacts of Motif; as well as CHAT’s booth returning to Art Basel Hong Kong.
Lining Revealed – A Journey Through Folk Wisdom and Contemporary Vision
Curated by Wang Weiwei, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at CHAT, Lining Revealed contemplates the enduring synergies between traditional folk craft and contemporary art through a thoughtful juxtaposition of artworks, handicrafts and archival documents. Showcasing a rich variety of folk crafts, such as handwoven and silkscreen-printed Chinese fabrics, traditional Indonesian weavings and Central Asian ornamental motifs, the works of 13 artists from across Asia will be presented, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey.
Through her curation, Wang highlights the essential role of craft in reinvigorating contemporary vision, underpinned by her belief that both folk craft and contemporary art stem from humanity’s innate desires for creation, expression, exchange and identity, all serving as vessels for conveying emotion and reason.
Busy Needles – Textile Embellishments of Hong Kong
Through the display of textiles and archival materials such as traditional Chinese wedding gowns, lacelike ‘drawnwork’ fabrics, embroidery design sketches and knitwear catalogues, the special display, curated by Bruce Li, Associate Curator of CHAT, invites visitors to reconsider the phrase ‘Made in Hong Kong’ while tracing the historical development of three textile embellishment techniques: drawnwork, beading and embroidery. These three intricate techniques, once skilfully performed by many in our older generations, illustrate the defining qualities of commercial craft production and circulation in 20th-century Hong Kong.
Artefacts of Motif
This display of CHAT Collection objects and archival materials uses the dragon motif as a starting point to explore how traditional motifs are sustained and reinterpreted, how they gain character and how their reinterpretations are perceived. From traditional Chinese marriage gowns to banners commemorating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the display highlights the dragon’s symbolic significance and flexibility in Hong Kong textile creations.
