Bark Cloth Making and Dying Stencil - Workshop with Artist Yu-wen Wang
This workshop requires the use of some tools and sharp objects. Participants must be 16 years or older
Join us for the Bark Cloth Making and Dying Stencil workshop with Artist Yu-wen Wang.
Attendees are required to bring their own hammer (with a notch on the hammer surface), a small watercolor pen, a small plate for color matching, a cutting mat, and a fine marker.
From the Artist:
The research team of Professor Chung Kuo-fang 鍾國芳 of National Taiwan University collected the DNA of the paper mulberry tree of the Austronesian languages from China, Southeast Asia to Oceania, and confirmed that Pacific mulberry trees originate from southern Taiwan. However, the Pacific Islands only have female plants, which require artificial cuttings to reproduce. Therefore, the DNA of paper mulberry has become Further evidence that the Pacific Islands were originally populated by a diaspora of indigenous Taiwanese people.This also gives Taiwan a new positioning: it is not just a small island next to China, Taiwan is the motherland of the Austronesian!
The Indigenous of Taiwan (Amis, Paiwan, Rukai, Atayal) used to take the bark of mulberry trees and turn them into garments to wear at traditional festivals, weddings, and funerals. This tradition was interrupted for a long time; today the Amis people continue this traditional skill through presentations and workshops.
Although I am not Amis, I am deeply moved by this process of knocking the bark: In the lives of the past, our food, clothing, housing, and transportation must be obtained from nature through hard labour, and humans and nature respect each other and share a close coexistence. But modern life is farther and farther away from nature, people hurt each other for the sake of personal gain, not only encroaching on human freedom but also irreparably damaging nature. I hope that through this traditional process of producing bark cloth, the cultural and historical memories of people and nature can be shared interconnectedly.
This workshop will first explain Chung Kuo-fang’s 鍾國芳 research findings. With the prepared already steamed and sun-dried paper mulberry bark, I will teach how to hammer the bark, design, sculpt, and dye the pattern with plant-based dyes made by Canadian artist Edward Fu-Chen Juan. At the end, everyone can bring home a bark print of their own creation.
We will be working with water and hammering the bark outdoors. Please dress appropriately for the workshop and the weather!
Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022
Time: 9:30am - 11:00am
Admission: Free
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Highlight Video
WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Wang Yu-wen was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan and graduated with an MFA from the National Taipei University of Art. Yu-Wen settled in Taitung after finishing a residency at the Taitung Railway Art Village.
In recent years, she has furthered her exploration, allowing these materials’ brittle and meltable characteristics to influence the graphic patterns in her work, developing a relationship between life and space.
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