Sew the Path
In a durational spoken word and participatory performance, dressed in a newly designed Taoist patchwork robe, brief insights are shared every hour. These stories center on nature, sustainability, and various life experiences related to the ‘path’, inspired by Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. Each participant is invited to sketch or write a word on a piece of fabric to keep, while also observing free-motion embroidery on a sewing machine. The embroidery style is abstract like a gestural drawing: without sharp geometric angles. This reflects the Taoist view that material things are in a state of constant change, evolving, de-evolving, and softening.
I created the Tao practitioner's patchwork robe using free-motion embroidery on repurposed fabrics. The elements portrayed are about my personal path and those of ancestors.