Remember-Loh Yu Mei (2023)

Cotton and pearls from necklace, 150 x 68 cm, 2023

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In the work, there is some floating weft across on the textile, it forms a shape of chair “emboss” on the textile. This technique is rooted in the traditional art of supplementary weft known as Songket, in which additional threads are woven into the weft between two regular weft threads to create decorative pattern in addition to the ground weave.

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Remember-Loh Yu Mei is inspired from the death of my aunt during the pandemic. The motif of chair as the metaphor of a figure who is absent from her daily life, it mirrors the existence of the sitter. And the unwoven part reflect the sense of loss from the death of the dearest person, as well as the long-used broken fabric. Using the pearls which come from the necklace of my late-aunt, to show my remembrance and mourning to my aunt and metaphor of healing as pearl is the beautiful result comes from the protection against the irritant from the grain of sand inside the shell, as well as the meditative and calmness I found in the repetitive weaving process. Weaving always mesmerise me more than other art forms from painting, sculpture and craft. The self-identity in the art language are expressed through the structure and material of textiles. The language of the material of her work as the sensitive segments of the life and emotion that are often ignored. I produce the motif with the construction of lines- sometime they are interlaced, sometime they are overlaid, sometime they are disconnected- until the relations of lines to each other produce an aesthetic emotion.

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While the creation process may be tinged with sadness and moments of apparent stillness, I hope the artwork invites viewers to recall memories of love and discover the healing power to navigate the uncertainties of life's journey.