{"id":7605,"date":"2026-09-18T18:38:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/?p=7605"},"modified":"2026-09-18T18:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:38:54","slug":"material-witness-reading-through-textiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/material-witness-reading-through-textiles\/","title":{"rendered":"Material witness: Reading through textiles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><em>\u0110\u1ecdc phi\u00ean b\u1ea3n ti\u1ebfng Vi\u1ec7t <span style=\"color: #00aae7\"><a style=\"color: #00aae7\" href=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/qua-chung-lieu-det-may\/\">t\u1ea1i \u0111\u00e2y<\/a><\/span>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>The \u201cTextiles and Sawu\u201d project originated from a donation by Professor Lim Tow Keang to the NUS Museum.\u00b9 This collection has laid the groundwork for a long-term initiative, where you and NUS College students travel to Sawu Island (Indonesia) to identify opportunities of collaboration and service to the local community. How did the donation develop into this project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">We were very happy to receive Professor Lim Tow Keang\u2019s donation. NUS Museum already houses a collection of Southeast Asian ethnographic materials gathered in the 1960s and 70s by our former curator, William Willetts. When Prof Lim contacted the museum to inquire about the donation, he indicated his wish that these textiles wouldn\u2019t just remain in storage, and wanted to know what we would do with them. We are a university museum, so naturally, part of the plans would be to use it in teaching and research. During that process, we discovered that Dr Genevieve Duggan, an anthropologist, had done her PhD at NUS on the Sawu people, and this was our first lead into documenting the project. As an adjunct lecturer at NUS College, I also lead student projects, and I realised that Sawu would make an interesting learning opportunity for students to be involved in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>From your time working with the collection and the community in Sawu, what is your observation on the role of arts and crafts in the life of the people there?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">The Sawu people are an ethnic group, and as with the diverse ethnicities across the Indonesian archipelago, textiles are often a reflection of cultural identities. These tribal identities are directly related to their origin narratives, which in turn link to an indigenous worldview that revolves around seasonality. Weaving lies at the heart of Sawunese matriarchal identity \u2013 even their origin stories reflect this, with two distinct weaving traditions embodied in the sacred narrative of the Greater and Lesser Blossoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7607\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7607\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7607\" src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-2048x1536.webp 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Students-interacting-with-weavers_-1200x900.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7607\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #282828\"><em>Students interacting with weavers. Photo courtesy of Yueh-Siang Chang.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">As with many other traditional societies, colonial impact and its ideological legacy \u2013 the precedence of a national identity, and the contemporary market economy, have all gradually impacted how Sawunese textile craft is transmitted and valued, even among the Sawunese people. Gratifyingly, the Sawu Regency government, weaving communities, and local leaders have come together to work on registering the traditional weaving methods and motifs as Sawunese intangible cultural heritage, which shows that the craft is still regarded with importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>How has Sawu\u2019s weaving tradition changed over time? Do you think those changes have been for better or worse?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">The pieces donated to the museum are from the 20\u1d57\u02b0 century \u2013 so they are rather recent, but this does not mean that they are not good. By and large, the quality of many pieces demonstrates how the tradition has survived and been maintained, and that there are practitioners who are still dyeing and weaving at a stringent quality using traditional methods. A newer phenomenon is the introduction of chemical dyes, which some weavers outside the main weaving communities have been using to make fast money by producing more products to sell to tourists. These chemical colours are stark and garish compared with traditional dyes; the motifs may also be made to order, rather than reflecting the motifs traditionally employed in Sawu textiles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">That is not to say that maintaining craft heritage has to be purist. We don\u2019t have to insist on an \u201corthodoxy of authenticity\u201d where methods can never evolve. One of the changes that weavers embrace is the use of industrially-produced cotton threads. Traditionally, weavers had to collect tree cotton to spin into threads, and handspun natural fibre has a distinct texture. Industrially-produced threads are spun more evenly, making the textile smoother. They also take up colours more vibrantly, which the weavers love. This is a welcome development.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7606\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7606\" style=\"width: 1440px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7606 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1440\" height=\"2560\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--scaled.webp 1440w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--169x300.webp 169w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--576x1024.webp 576w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--768x1365.webp 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--864x1536.webp 864w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--1152x2048.webp 1152w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/On-Loom--1200x2133.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1440px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1440\/2560;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7606\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #282828\"><em>On loom. Photo courtesy of Yueh-Siang Chang.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">Another development that the Sawu weavers would like to learn is how to process dyes for stable storage, so that colours can be available year-round. Traditionally, the blue dye comes from fermenting the nila plant (<em>Indigofera tinctoria<\/em>), which flourishes in the rainy season at the beginning of the year; while the red dye comes from the root of the mengkudu tree, which is processed in the second half of the year. Without a way to preserve these organic dyes, the production of a single length of textile can take an entire year based on natural dye cycles. Introducing storage would not disrupt indigenous seasonal pauses: dye production would still depend on the seasonality of the plants \u2013 a reserve only ensures that there is a steady supply of colours at any time of the year. Therefore, we are able to see how a living tradition adapts and develops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>NUS Museum \u2013 whose roots can be traced back to 1955 \u2013 holds a wide range of Southeast Asian art, from textiles and ceramics to paintings and objects of worship. How do you think this textile collection, alongside other collections at the Museum, deepens our understanding of arts and crafts in the region?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">One of NUS Museum\u2019s earlier curators, William Willetts, had once said this about Southeast Asian ceramics and textiles: \u201cPots and cloths. Two of the most elemental inventions of civilised mankind, and nowhere richer in their beauty, variety of form and decoration, than in these parts of the world.\u201d In the 1960s and 70s, at a time when Vietnamese and Thai ceramics and textiles were under-appreciated as \u201cart objects,\u201d Willetts actively sought them out for the University Art Gallery (NUS Museum\u2019s former name). While having these objects to study allows us to understand materials and techniques, more importantly, they also provide insights into people groups and their sustainable ways of life in Southeast Asia. For example, recognising that a piece of woven textile takes a long time to produce becomes an entry point into understanding a culture\u2019s different concept of \u201ctime.\u201d It also allows us to appreciate the corollary that agriculture and harvests are not to be rushed or maximised, but all take place in their own seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7608\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7608\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7608 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--2048x1536.webp 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Traditional-Rooster-fight--1200x900.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2560px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2560\/1920;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7608\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #282828\"><em>Ritual rooster fight, one of the activities for harvest festivities. Photo courtesy of Yueh-Siang Chang.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">Additionally, there are also crossovers between ethnographic materials like textiles with objects\u00a0 considered to be \u201cfine art\u201d. For instance, while a length of cloth from the Vietnamese highlands may be a beautiful object to study in a museum on its own, placing it there\u00a0 \u00a0risks its removal from its original, living context. In an effort to remedy this, NUS Museum has been working with the Dato\u2019 N. Parameswaran Collection of Vietnamese Wartime Art, in which there are clear depictions of participants from Vietnamese minority groups. These artworks give us an idea of how the textiles are worn, and by whom. In a university museum setting, these materials offer a cultural introduction for students, especially those preparing for field studies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>Why do you think that it is important for university museums such as NUS Museum, to develop and engage in projects like \u201cTextiles and Sawu\u201d, and how will this collection continue to be deployed in future research?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">We are hoping to develop documentation, publication and exhibition projects on not just the Sawu textiles, but also on those from other regions within the Lim Tow Keang donation and the Willetts collection as well. While these are fundamentally anthropological materials, it could also be interesting to consider them from the perspective of design history as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7609\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7609\" style=\"width: 2560px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7609 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-scaled.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-scaled.webp 2560w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-1536x1152.webp 1536w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-2048x1536.webp 2048w, https:\/\/artnation.vn\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-06-03-at-16.28.54-1-1200x900.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2560px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2560\/1920;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7609\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #282828\"><em>Ritual stone altars in the traditional village of Namata on Sawu Island. Photo courtesy of Yueh-Siang Chang.<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #282828\">There is much that a university can learn from traditional and indigenous cultures. In today\u2019s technocratic world, technological solutions and efficiency are heavily prioritised \u2013 but this needs to be problematised. Many of our assumptions of progress and value comes from a legacy of colonial thinking: we place monetary value on resources and processes that we believe help attain us economic advancement and, allegedly, a better quality of life. Since traditional crafts and practices do not \u201cscale\u201d in the same way, they are often deemed to not be \u201cvaluable\u201d and allowed to decline into obsolescence. We frequently champion the \u201cinterdisciplinary\u201d, when in truth, a technocratic education system increasingly sidelines the study of human cultures, particularly the creative and (re)generative practices that make us human, such as farming or fishing. Projects like \u201cTextiles and Sawu\u201d reintroduce us to human practices and inherited wisdom. I have always believed that combining traditional paradigms with the technologies that exist now can go a long way in solving the world\u2019s pressing problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><span style=\"color: #282828\"><strong>Words &amp; Translation: Nguy\u1ec5n L\u00ea Thu\u1ef7 Ti\u00ean<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12px;color: #282828\">[1] In 2023, the NUS Museum received a donation of 123 Southeast Asian textiles from Professor Lim Tow Keang, the majority of which originate from Sawu Island in Indonesia\u2019s East Nusa Tenggara province.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chang Yueh Siang shared how a university-affiliated museum integrates education into the preservation of traditional crafts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[174,172,173],"class_list":["post-7605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-salon","tag-chang-yueh-siang","tag-nus-museum","tag-textiles-and-sawu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.4 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Material witness: Reading through textiles - Art Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At National University of Singapore, Chang Yueh Siang balances multiple roles as an adjunct lecturer and supervisor of Impact Experience (IEx) projects, alongside her position as an Associate University Curator at the NUS Museum, where she oversees the museum\u2019s Lee Kong Chian Gallery of Chinese Art and the Dato\u2019 N. 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