Often audiences are privy only to the finished product of an artist’s work, not so in Hou I-Ting’s Needlewomen in the Fields – When Needles Spark wherein the public is invited to contribute to an ongoing project of embroidery and textile labour. Simultaneously textile, performance and literal work Needlewomen in the Fields – When Needles Spark extends I-Ting’s practice of interrogating the relationship between creative expression and the processes of production.
Twice a week, between 11 am – 1 pm Fridays and Sundays (from 20 March) audiences are invited to book in for a session of guided embroidery at the desks assembled by I-Ting’s work. No prior experience is necessary. The object is simply to experience the process of methodically stitching.
Particularly interested in the influences of colonial and political regime in Taiwan’s history on women’s labour, Needlewomen in the Fields – When Needles Spark intentionally uses a traditionally feminine craft, embroidery. Using this medium reveals the human hours, sweat and skill behind an ever-growing consumer culture.
In an extension of her existing work utilising archival photography from Taiwan, Hou I-Ting’s work for the Biennale of Sydney sees visitors invited to contribute their own work by colourfully embroidering printed archival photos of Australia’s textile working history. Literally reanimating the production chain, I-Ting positions audiences as consumers and artfully denies them the privilege of a blind eye.
Commissioned by the Biennale of Sydney with generous support from Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Sydney.
Photo by Yung-Jen Chen
