Tapestry and Weaving
Making Multicultural Australia - http://www.multiculturalaustralia.gov.au
Hanh Ngo, “Ca ra khoi nuoc,” tapestry weaving – cotton, 1994
• This is the first work in a series of
•
•
four, which spell out the
Vietnamese words for “fish out of
water.”
The series reflects the artist’s
thoughts about her identity.
She says being Vietnamese-born,
but living in an Australian context,
she sometimes does not know
how to fit in, she sometimes feels
as though she’s outside what
should be her own environment.
Hanh Ngo, “Bac Ho,” collage, photocopies, paint, 1993
•
•
•
•
•
The title of this work translates as “Uncle
Ho.”
The artist says she was brought up to fear
Ho Chi Minh, through her parents’ point of
view of him. But at the same time, at school
in Vietnam, she was forced to acknowledge
him as an “uncle.”
Hanh Ngo researched the man and the
propaganda about him, seeking an
understanding of who he really was.
She found he was very keen to have his
photo taken and very particular about his
appearance.
She says the work reflects her view of the
propaganda about him: the flowers
demonstrate the effort to make him
appealing, but at the same time, the
repetition of his picture is like the constant
and repetitive pounding in of a message.
Hanh Ngo, “Identity.” Tapestry weaving – wool and cotton, 1994
• This work reflects the refugee
•
experience of Hanh Ngo’s family:
displaced from country and
heritage, and relocated –
“replaced” – in photo on the visa
that was to let her into Australia.
She says “the experience of being
born Vietnamese and raised in
Australia is the focus of my work.”
Hanh Ngo, “Truyen Kieu,” tapestry weaving – cotton and rayon, 1996
•
•
This is one of a series of 27 weavings
examining the celebrated Vietnamese
epic poem “Truyen Kieu” – “Tale of
Kieu”, the heroine of the poem.
Hanh Ngo says through it she explored
the written language of Vietnam, and
its evolution from its ancient to its
modern form. She says that after
nearly 20 years in Australia, she
interprets such traditions from Vietnam
differently from a Vietnamese, but her
“mother culture… is particularly vital to
me as it has influenced, and will
continue to influence, my sense of
value, the way I reason, and the angle
from which I perceive things.”
Aynur Cagli, designer. South Australia Design Workshop, weavers
• “Ford Worker and Wife.” –
•
“Symbolism is of conflict,
contradiction and problems of
communication. For example,
arrows and hook shapes placed in
oppostite directions incomplete
triangles.”
Kilim from A Bitter Song Project,
Multicultural Artworkers
Committee (Adelaide), Union of
Australian Turkish Workers
(Melbourne), 1988.
Aynur Cagli, designer. South Australian Design Workshop, weavers
•
•
•
•
“A Bitter Song” – “This design reflects in part
the emotions of an illegal migrant as he
thinks about his wife remaining in Turkey, his
period in prison and the meaning of his
freedom.
He had wanted to be free so he could come
to Australia but now he feels imprisoned by
his new circumstances in Australia. Within
the total design there are however symbols
of hope for the future
for example, the band beneath the
inscription is representative of a plant which,
when it flowers as it is in this design, is
symbolic of the belief in the fulfillment of
dreams….”
Kilim from A Bitter Song project, Multicultural
Artworkers Committee (Adelaide), Union of
Australian Turkish Workers (Melbourne),
1988.
• These images are free for your use for educational purposes, however not for publication.
• For more copyright information go to www.multiculturalaustralia.gov.au