dad
_
2014
mixed media double-sided 30-page accordion book
149 x 210 mm
149 x 210 mm
The ancient Chinese legend of the red thread tells that when children are born, invisible red threads connect them to the loved ones whom they are fated to be with. The folklore uses the image of the red thread to describe destiny. As a child, my maternal grandmother has always preached about the importance of treasuring our family members for it is destiny that brought all of us together. With this folklore and my grandmother’s words in mind, my artwork combines the use of visual rhetoric operations such as Accumulation, Metaphor and Similes to explore the relationship between my late father and I.
The work serves as a form of healing. At the same time it aims to reconnect myself with my father, with events that happened over the 25 years of my life that were already chucked to the back of my mind but resurfaced when he disappeared in my life. In my opinion, in order to heal an emotional pain, one has to revisit what hurts him the most. There are some wounds that one can heal only by deepening them and making them worse, that is when one will find acceptance for them to move on.
The book recounts the various events with old photos, which I accumulated. Each narrates a story that has left a “scar” in my memory. A “scar” is defined as a mark left by a healed wound or a lasting psychological injury resulting from suffering or trauma. Although healed, these wounds will leave a scar that reminds us time and again about the pain we have been through, almost metaphorically capturing and documenting a pain in our memory.
Threads bear a symbolic meaning in my work. They serve as the metaphorical depiction of destiny and also the ties that bind my family together. On top of that, these threads bear an uncanny resemblance to those used in stitches to heal a wound. Hence, threads are used to mimic a scar. The very thread that binds my father and I together is also the one that creates these scars (in my memories).
Threads bear a symbolic meaning in my work. They serve as the metaphorical depiction of destiny and also the ties that bind my family together. On top of that, these threads bear an uncanny resemblance to those used in stitches to heal a wound. Hence, threads are used to mimic a scar. The very thread that binds my father and I together is also the one that creates these scars (in my memories).
