Burlap Rice Bag (Transformation)
Composition with three different brands of rice bags in each section that are connected by the bag handles. Even though there are three different kinds of packaging, I emphasize that they are all the same; burlap made out of jute. It’s looking out in our society with different race, ethnicity, cast, religion and many more that tend to separate or distinguish us human beings from each other. But remember we are all one kind.
Burlap [what this mean to me]
My exploration with these burlap rice bags began with my journey at the School of Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) . I always wanted to explore this material since I had first encountered them in 2011. Rice itself is a thing that makes me nostalgic, but these burlap rice bags are something different. In the case of rice bags, it engages all my senses through the texture of burlap when I touch and see them, the smell that comes from bags. It also reminds me of all the labor involved from the cultivation of rice farmers to workers making burlap rice bags from jute. To appreciate this labor, I added my labor by taking the bags apart and hand stitching them together in a different composition. I tried to understand and investigate the objects through an initial deconstruction; by ripping them apart and taking every single component that can be separated from rice bag. From each bag I was able to get different elements such as bag handles, zipper, jute thread, rice label, plastic package, rice grains, and big burlap pieces. Once this exploration through destruction is complete, I re-assemble these pieces in novel ways.
This is an exploration of giving three-dimensional form to a flat quilt or tapestry. I love the infinite possibilities that one piece can create, and I get a surprising satisfaction with every new composition of this piece.