Project Summary

From a dress worn to reflect status to everyday wear, to uniforms of teachers, the cheongsam has seen significant changes in the roles played across various identities over the years. Today, the cheongsam is often used as a cultural icon to represent the Chinese community and is worn as a traditional costume during special occasions. This installation focused on the developments of the design from the 1950s to the 1970s. The installation used cheongsam as an inspiration and form of storytelling to trace its culture, identity and meanings in our rapidly-changing social landscape. It aims to evoke and commemorate the cheongsam as a form of dress portraying dual characteristics of fragility and strength; modernity and self-awareness.

More than 20 designs were created by referencing the original cheongsams from the National Museum of Singapore. The cheongsams, including some with interactive components, are made of unconventional fabric using thread and tea-stained silk objects stitched on water-soluble material. When the material dissolves, only the patterns and its dress form remain.

Suspended using threads, the cheongsams will be arranged at various heights in a dark room. Each of the cheongsams is illuminated with programmable LEDlights from the top. Swarovski crystals and the patterns of the dresses will also create dynamic shadows and light reflections. This helped to portray the idea of the continuing living culture of the cheongsams. Visitors will be able to listen to a narration of love letters dedicated to cheongsams by touching the conductive threads attached to them. Visitors will also be able to go up close with the cheongsams to see their patterns. Two videos that show the process of making and storytelling was projected on both sides of the room.

Together, the cheongsams create an interface that connects the strong cultural significance and history of the cheongsam as a dress form with the personal experiences and stories of wearers (and its viewers). While presenting personal stories contributed by people from different walks of life, it also offers space for visitors to draw their own connections with the cheongsams and to see them beyond just as a dress.

Exhibition Abstract

Talking Cheongsams uses the iconic Chinese cheongsam as a form of storytelling to trace the identity and rapidly-changing social landscape of Singapore. Through the course of making and exhibiting Talking Cheongsams, this interactive textile installation forms, stores and retrieves memories about Singapore’s heritage and identity.

Twelve cheongsams from the National Collection were carefully selected and used as inspiration for artistic interpretation in this work. The artist aims to evoke and commemorate the cheongsam as a form of dress portraying dual characteristics of fragility and strength; modernity and self-awareness. Technology seamlessly embedded within the works allow the textiles to talk or light up to interact with audiences.

In addition to the twelve hanging cheongsams, this work also includes a projection work displayed on the cheongsam-wearing mannequin; a cheongsam painted with thermochromic ink over silk, and a video installation demonstrating the process of the dissolving medium of these cheongsams to reveal the remaining textures exhibited.