she makes

for this gift i referenced the art form of pojagi [보자기] : traditional Korean wrapping cloth. the careful making of pojagi was felt to confer blessings on the recipient, and was often designed and crafted by women for specific functions or as gifts. pojagi was previously seen more as craft pieces than artwork, but in recent decades people have increasingly acknowledged its significance of representing traditional Korean women’s thriftiness and aesthetic skills.

the images transferred are film stills from my professor and my’s shared favorite film director Hou Hsiao Hsien [侯孝賢] : a Taiwanese film director and prominent figure in Taiwan’s new wave cinema movement. His films bring out the subtle tensions, joys, and nuances of ordinary people’s lives through exquisitely colored cinematography and storytelling.

the center of the piece features a quilted patch of blossom petals that a classmate and i collected as a symbol of the precious memories we made in this professor’s class