Holding, Marking

Holding, Marking is a patchwork quilt which I began before I was pregnant, responding to the quilts my grandmother made for me as a child. I continued working on it throughout my pregnancy and into my postpartum months. It has become a ritual object I continue to return to. Fragments of clothing from before I was pregnant that no longer fit me, sections of bedsheets from my early postpartum days, Singaporean Batik and found fabric are stitched into the quilt. The work honours my transition into motherhood and holds it with care, while also connecting me to my grandmother’s quilting practice. Sewing pins have been left in the edges of the quilt indicating that the work remains in progress: open, evolving and in a state of becoming.

I built the frame in order to hold the quilt with intention, using Indonesian Meranti Timber to locate the work within a Southeast Asian context. The frame is secured with mortise and tenon joints and bronze dowels—a simple and strong method of joining wood that has been used across cultures for thousands of years. I also cast concrete weights to slot over the back of the frame. These serve the practical purpose of stabilising the structure, while also introducing a sense of groundedness and weight that echoes the work’s emotional concerns.

Holding, Marking offers a personal and tender honouring of early motherhood—a period of emotional and existential transformation that rarely receives the attention it deserves. It honours matrescence, Southeast Asian craft, and textile practices passed down between women. Although rooted in my own experience, I hope it resonates more broadly - an invitation to viewers to reflect on the stories and relationships embedded in the materials used.

Photography by Studio Reverse Magic and Yang-En Hume