Borrowing Arrows

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2023

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"Re)Borrowing Arrows with Thatched Boats" is an exhibition that interprets on the Chinese idiom "草船借箭"

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“Everybody says women are like water. I think it's because water is the source of life, and it adapts itself to its environment. Like women, water also gives of itself wherever it goes to nurture life....”

― Xinran, The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices

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As an artist of Brazilian origin conducting research in Australia and with close personal connections to China, I have observed that despite cultural differences, women often face similar forms of marginalisation and discomfort. To shed light on the position of women in society, I incorporate three languages—Portuguese, English, and Chinese—into my artwork, embroidering hammocks with words and phrases specific to each culture that refer to women and weaving them into my personal experiences. Through this approach, the hammocks symbolise my Brazilian cultural identity, while the sail needle and thread reference the historical context of the Chinese idiom "草船借箭."

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By projecting my own image in my work, I aim to explore my position as a woman navigating these three cultures and to reflect on the emotions that arise when engaging with different cultural contexts. Water is a recurring theme in my artwork, evoking the Chinese metaphor of women as "water," and symbolising the fluidity of my identity as I move between different cultures. I use water's materiality as a visual language to express my diasporic experience.

• Projector: image was projected on 3 pieces of Fabric (Brazilian Hammock) with the measurement of approximately 1x2m each.

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Credit to Liang Xu Photography for some of the exhibitons photos.

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