Body of Light

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Artist: Holly Wong

Title: Body of Light

Attribution: Body of Light, 2023, Holly Wong

Year: 2023

Materials: Silk, cotton and organza with LED lighting

Dimensions: 8'H x 15'W x 6'D

Image Statement: Body of Light is a suspended installation of fabric and light. Holly Wong became attracted to working with reflective, transparent fabrics because it reminded her of the permeable separation between the living and the dead. In this public project for San Francisco Art Market, Wong created a quilt suspension, using a flat felled seam technique with silk, cotton, and netting, inspired by Korean Bojagi patchwork technique. She combined these ephemeral materials with LED strip lighting as a proxy for her mother’s rising spirit. The layers of pieced fabric are suspended over this light-spirit as a shroud or mourning cloth. Inspired by Chinese funeral customs, the quilt layers become burial blankets that are offered by the children of the deceased and layered upon their loved ones. The intent of this work is to reach out to the viewer with a spirit of healing.