After inheriting two hundred pieces of woven cloth from her grandmother\u2019s closet in 2014, Labay Eyong began to learn to weave, essentially learning to become a Truku \u201cwoman.\u201d She then launched a series of large-scale soft sculptures on the theme of weaving, three works of which are on display in the current exhibition. The bright colors of these pieces were inspired by tribe experiences during the period of U.S. aid to Taiwan when her grandmother and other women of the village received wool sweaters, but instead of wearing them, the material was dismantled and rewoven. These recycled, or \u201ctambrigen\u201d (\u201cexchange[d]\u201d), sweaters which were largely repurposed into blankets challenged the material restrictions and color schemes of the original weaving practices, not only reshaping the unidirectional, passive relationship between giver and receiver under complex international politics but also leading to a creative revolution within the tribe. With this context serving as a foundation, the works of Labay Eyong included in this exhibition elicit the tribe experiences and collective memories that resulted from these encounters and shifts. On an individual level, through this form of labor-intensive weaving, she both reconstructs her past family history as well as intertwining her experiences of shaping herself into a woman with each horizontal and vertical thread. <\/p>\n
Labay Eyong\u2019s creations demonstrate how U.S. aid of the time altered the quotidian material experiences of ordinary people and how related memories create contemporary art. Within these processes, weaving is seen as an important material symbol of indigenous identity, and it is worth noting that such discourses are not unique to Labay Eyong, but shared by numerous contemporary female indigenous artists throughout Taiwan. The Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinicia, possesses a wide collection of documents from the period of U.S. aid to Taiwan, many of which concern the establishment of imparting the weaving practices and skills of tribes, and within the framework of U.S. aid policy, indigenous weaving was considered a subject that needed to be rescued and reformed. \u201cPolicy, Memory and Material Experiences\u201d juxtaposes these official documents with the contemporary art of female indigenous weaving to illustrate the complex relationships between identity politics and material culture through their gaps and divergent discourses, ultimately hoping to actuate even richer possibilities for future research.<\/p>\n
![\"Policy,](\"https:\/\/newsletter.sinica.edu.tw/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/2-5-1024x513.jpg\")
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