Weaving a Day, Mourning a Life: The Mother and Daughter - in - Law of Phúc Sen

A group exhibition exploring cultural memory, ritual labour, and the transformation of grief through material practices, featuring photography, sound, and textile installation. About On view at 291 Church St: September 4 - October 24, 2026 Tues - Sat, 11am - 6pm Opening: Fri, Sep 4, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm with curator present Online: starting September 4, 2026 When the Loom Becomes the Mourning Cloth This proposal is for an original group exhibition that explores themes of cultural memory, ritual labour, and the transformation of grief through material practices. It brings together three distinct artistic voices working independently across photography, sound, and textile installation. Exhibition Concept: In Phúc Sen, a village in Northern Vietnam, the Nùng An people practise a unique tradition where a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law weave daily on separate looms. Each day's pattern is different. Upon the elder's death, this collectively woven cloth is repurposed into her funeral garment. After mourning, the garment is dyed with indigo and incorporated back into daily wear, transforming a symbol of loss into one of continuous life. This exhibition translates this profound philosophy into a contemporary art context. It presents how ritual, time, and memory can be physically woven into the fabric of existence, offering a poignant meditation on cycles of life and death that resonates universally. Contributing Artists and Works: The exhibition will feature three independent bodies of work, each engaging with the core theme from a unique disciplinary perspective: Photographic Series: A collection of large-format photographs documenting the life cycle of the cloth within the Nùng An community. The images will focus on the details of the weaving process, the hands of the women, and the transformed garment in its daily context, presented with ethnographic sensitivity and artistic composition. Sound Installation: An immersive, multi-channel soundscape built from field recordings captured in Phúc Sen. The work will weave together the rhythmic sounds of the looms, the natural ambience of the village, and subtle, obscured fragments of oral history, creating an acoustic space for reflection. Textile-Based Sculpture: A large-scale, suspended installation using indigo-dyed cloth and thread. This work will not replicate the traditional textiles but will respond to them conceptually, exploring ideas of fragility, resilience, and the layering of time through material. It will invite viewers to move through a physical representation of memory and continuity. Exhibition Layout: The apexart gallery space will be transformed into a cohesive yet segmented environment. The photographic series will line the walls, establishing a narrative context. The central space will be occupied by the textile sculpture, which visitors can navigate. The sound installation will permeate the entire gallery, uniting the discrete works into a single, immersive sensory experience. This arrangement allows each artist's work to stand alone while engaging in a silent dialogue with the others, reflecting the exhibition's theme of individual contributions to a collective whole. Rationale: This exhibition fulfils a critical need for cultural programmes that present specific ethnographic traditions without exoticising them. Instead, it uses them as a starting point for a broader conversation about art, philosophy, and human experience. By presenting three independent artistic interpretations, the exhibition avoids a single, authoritative voice, instead offering a multifaceted perspective on its central theme. It is a project about process, legacy, and the quiet wisdom embedded in often-overlooked forms of women's labour, making it a compelling and timely offering for a New York audience. Read more Toggle Photography Audio / Sound Installation