In modern times, East Asia has navigated through waves of geopolitical, economic and cultural crises, both internal and external, with countries and territories in the area simultaneously tested by the challenges of globalisation and multilateral relations. Shared among its people groups are knowledge systems and hard-learned lessons from history. Yet there are also paradoxical perception and deep-rooted antagonism mixed with interdependence and disdain that accompanied the establishment and collapse of cultural identities.
CHAT’s focus on textile and its cultural contexts offered an alternative entry point for our quest into and reimagination of the notion of ‘East Asia’. The materiality of textile, as well as its intricate connections with mankind in political, economic, social and cultural contexts throughout history, have provided leads and inspirations in the process of reconsidering, or spinning, and revisiting East Asia.
Titled A Compass in Hand, the first chapter of the Spinning East Asia Seri
