Replay by Ngaching Ko

中文版 - Chinese version      

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Ngaching Ko

In “Replay”, the creative materials Ngaching used are basically old clothes she sourced from second-hand shops and even garbage stations in the "Hutong" neighborhood of Beijing. These modern “antique” clothes are commonly seen in all big cities around the world, no exception for Beijing. In fact, the “Hutong” neighborhood in the city’s old town area attracts many stylish and artistic young people here to “dig treasures” for fashion. Honestly, it is not easy for an old piece of cloth to be picked out from the second-hand market, as it needs to be flawless, with the style and size perfectly fitting for someone. Whether in the past or the present, there are actually rare opportunities for old textiles to be reused. The excessive production of textiles has brought enormous pressure to both our wardrobes and the ecology.
 
Ngaching attempted to reinterpret the old clothes she collected in the form of handicraft art, allowing them to be worn again as brooches. While these old clothes being transformed from finished products back into raw materials, the artist gained the privilege to imagine how they were like in the past. The process of observing the details in each piece of cloth is like replaying a fragment of the life of their previous owners. These observations would then become the inspiration for creation. In terms of craftmanship, Ngaching referred to the traditional Japanese handicraft technique of “Kimekomi Dolls”. This technique allows textiles to be presented not in a light and airy state, but in a solid and stable manner, so that they can be used and stored for a longer period of time. It is noteworthy that Ngaching’s works were selected and exhibited by the Talent section during the 2024 Munich Jewelry Week.
 
I was surprised to receive a set of wearing photos taken by Ngaching recently. Linking the entire series together, these photos suddenly gave me a more concrete understanding of the stories depicted by the artist about every piece of old cloth and their owners. A very unique feature of these brooches is that they appear three-dimensional from the photos, but in fact, their shapes are mostly flat, making them lighter in size. Being fixed in this kind of "two-and-a-half dimensional” state, these brooches look both real and virtual. When old clothes are made into jewelry and worn on contemporary people, different eras and times are intertwined, producing a sense of confusion and discordance, which is exactly the “weird” charm they carry. The process of appreciating these jewelry works seems to make me hear a piece of music or watch a movie.