-> Textile book with embroidery and applique on fabrics and masks
-> 18 (w) x 20 (l) x 5 (h) cm
-> Oct-Dec. 2022
-> Published on RISD Museum’s website
The Back Side Story is a textile zine that, with brightly colored patch works and embroidery, documents Chinese citizens' daily lives, sufferings and resilience under the government's zero-covid policy.
Drawing inspiration from the Chilean Arpilleras created within female communities under the military regime of Augusto Pinochet, The Back Side Story pays homage to the aesthetic value, storytelling, and political significance embodied in Arpilleras. By echoing their styles techniques, this work hopes to channel the empowerment inherent to Arpilleras – a tactile and communal strength gathering collective talents, effort, and emotionals from communities under power.
Paragraphs of text are flipped while being embroidered, thus encrypted, and one can only read the text when reading from the back side. This technique follows the language of Arpilleras and reflects a collective resistance to censorship and dictatorship.
This piece stands as a point of mobilization, inspiring its audience to craft their own narratives of resistance and resilience, harnessing the inherent power of embroidery.
