perpaduan (unity)
in this project i will be using wool - a dense, insulating material perfect for cold climates - to construct a series of punch needle textiles featuring tropical botanicals native to my birth country of malaysia.
wool is a fiber that is widely used in canada due to our colder climate but unsuited to malaysia’s equatorial environment. the blending of wool with tropical plants seeks to echo my own experience as a malaysian raised in canada, as a biracial and bi-national individual simultaneously existing in two different worlds yet forming a cohesive whole. the mix of tropical plant-based imagery with animal-based cold-weather fibers strives to convey that intent.
the result will be a family of circular wall-mounted three-dimensional textiles in bright, eye-catching colours. this is an ongoing project and completed pieces will be uploaded to this page as they are finished.
Bunga Raya, 2019
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, or the bunga raya, is the national flower of Malaysia. In Bahasa Malaysia, bunga raya literally translates to "celebratory flower". My family's hometown, Seremban, is colloquially referred to as 芙蓉 or "Fu Yong" (lit. "hibiscus") by Chinese Malaysians. The hibiscus has important political and personal meaning to me as a Malaysian, which is why I chose to start this collection with the bunga raya.
Orkid, 2020
Coming soon.