Keqin Zhang

"Garments - A link to home"

Section MS15, Sarah Akigbogun

Keywords: memory, home, ritual

My memories of my hometown are related to garments. Indigo dye is the traditional way of dyeing cloth in my hometown. People would wet the fabric, bundle it in various ways, put it in a dye pot, and finally wash and dry it and make it into garments. This series of actions, from making to using, are symbolised in the process of people repeating them over and over again, and have become a unique ritual. They carry my memories of my hometown and are the source of my sense of belonging.

In particular, the process of washing and wringing fabrics is time-consuming and labour-intensive, and carries with it their love of home. The transformation of fabric in people's hands is the process of connecting people with their homes, and it is because of the handmade clothes that people strengthen their sense of belonging to their homes. So I see garments as a link between people and their homes.

The project shapes the different shapes of the fabrics to represent the process by which people connect with their homes and develop a sense of belonging. Through the technique of Indigo dye, we were able to visualise the strength of the fabric's transformation and the extent to which people use the clothes. These fabrics carry more and more memories with them as they come into contact with them over and over again, which gives people a sense of belonging wherever they take them. They are the link between people and their homes.