Interviews with Tsai Jung Chiang

The inspiration of The Withering Flower collection initially came from studying one of the Chinese' four great literature classics, "The Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin in the 18th century.

Throughout the story, images of flowers are spontaneously written as personification and foreshadowing as each character progressed over the storyline.

One of the poems that appeared in the story, "The song of the Flower Burial," as sung by the female protagonist, is a metaphor to the character's silent struggles in a feudal and aristocratic society.

The image of a flower's decay and burial symbolizes the inevitable death of all beautiful things, and the poem has since become my core inspiration to further study the flower image and its significance in Chinese culture.

There are two core focuses in this collection: the conceptual research on the flower's image correlates with cultural identity and the technical execution on developing the textile technique.

For the conceptual aspect, I hope to discover the flower image beyond its traditional association with prettiness and affinity by examing the withered flower's symbolism, and the reason of why the decay is often perceived as misfortune in Chinese literature and culture.

For the technical aspect, I aimed to develop a specific silkscreen printing technique, that would make prints stay securely opaque on mesh and net fabrics while retaining the fabric's elasticity.

I plan to continue further study on the flower's significance in Chinese literature and create a visual library of the flower images' meanings and unique application throughout historical and contemporary cultural settings.

Alongside the continuous conceptual research, I also plan on working larger scale art pieces and installations with the textile applique for a future solo exhibition.

The whole process, from the research phase to the finalized pieces, took approximately three to four months to complete.

The collection is designed and made for the graduate fashion show during my BA studies at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.

The design is currently not for sale; it is used by Angela Tsai Jung Chiang's studio for future artwork development.

During my BA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, my studies specialized in womenswear and printed textile design. As my childhood aspiration was to become a manga artist, I have always think of the prints on clothes as bringing essence out of a 2D paper, like painting on a living canvas.

When I was working on this collection, I precisely wanted to infuse the 2D perspective into the dresses, creating a linear and flat silhouette as though every piece of dress could roll into a scroll, and layout open like a painting.

The use of this particular textile technique, printing opaquely onto see-through fabrics, created an illusion of the prints floating in the air, and the method links back to my core vision of bringing essence out of 2D paper.

During the conceptual research phase, I found great inspiration from the Chinese literature classic "The Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin in the 18th century.

I was also greatly inspired by British Artist, Anya Gallaccio. Gallaccio's site-specific installations using organic and decomposable matters have been a fascinating inspiration for me to further look into the transience of life.

This collection of printed dresses is created as art pieces, more of an artistic approach. However, the prints in this collection would improvise into a visual library, with each flower image/print correlating to its symbolism in Chinese literature in the future.

Each choice of floral print in the collection is based on its unique cultural language and symbolism in Chinese culture and heritage.

One of the dresses in the collection is printed in chrysanthemum motifs, the cultural language associated with chrysanthemums are the flowers for the funeral, as it is a taboo of gifting chrysanthemum in Chinese culture. Another dress from the collection is printed in decayed poppies. The poppy flower itself is considered as a controversial symbol, and the use of decaying matters as adornment on the body is sought to be bringing bad luck from cultural myths.

In the context of this collection, I want to question what shapes the viewer and the community's validation of what is considered as a sublime and objection.

In contrast to the blooming flower's popularity, the decaying flower is often associated with jinx and taboos in Chinese culture.

The withering flower is perceived as abject and to be consciously avoided in a broad cultural context, from principles in Fengshui to gifting etiquette in Chinese culture.

The portrayal of the flower image would link to the sentiments and glorification on preserving life, sustaining good fortunes, while subconsciously evading symbols of passing and downfall.

The name of the collection, The Withering Flower, is also a question about what is considered as abject, and what is impacting the conventional perceptiveness.

The design began with live drawing and observation on both the blooming and the withering flowers over two weeks. I used pencil, felted pen, ink, and charcoal to capture the silhouette of the flower's life cycle, from the freshly blooming flowers to its gradual decay.

The hand illustrations were transformed onto silkscreens for textile printing, and lastly, the fabrics were sewn into dress pieces.

The Withering Flower collection was nominated to apply for the A'Design Award. It is a fantastic experience to take part in the international design competition.

I hold a BA in Fashion Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. My studies at Central Saint Martins specialized in womenswear design and printed textiles. The use of fabrics and silkscreen printing has since become one of the prominent techniques in my works.

I have always wanted to work in the art and design industry since childhood. However, my childhood aspiration was to work as a Manga artist, which did eventually transformed into passions for dressing characters, leading me onto the path of studying fashion design.

My studio is based in Taipei City, Taiwan.

The studio works across fashion, theatre costumes, printed textiles, and visual identity design. In addition to the design works, the studio is currently in the development of a fashion accessory brand.

For me, "design" resembles engagement and community, and a relevant solution to decoding problems.

I especially enjoy design projects with a research emphasis on historical and cultural value.

I have not had a most favorite design yet, but there were design projects I still find joy even years after completing it. An example is The Withering Flower, the printed textile collection I did in 2016.

The concept behind the project was symbolic to me. The taboo in Chinese culture, as my childhood of growing up in different Eastern and Western cities, and the dilemma I encountered in recognizing my cultural identity. The silkscreen printing technique was another exciting challenge to overcome in this project, realizing the technical possibility in printing.

I initially worked at a couture house in Taiwan after college graduation. After working at the couture house, I started up my design studio in Taipei. The first project I designed was a collection of theatre costumes, and the theatre performance took place at Taiwan National Experimental Theatre in 2017.

It was my first time working on theatre costume, and the entire process was a memorable experience!

The co-working alongside the screenplay, theatre crew members, and the actors, the design experience was so vivid and alive. The costume designs would reflect every character's personal story and precisely coordinated with the stage and light design. The co-working process is like an orchestra, with every professional crew collaborated lively for exceptional performance.

My favorite material base is fabric, and my favorite technique is silkscreen printing.

Physically is either early in the morning or midnight, sitting at my desk and facing a window of the cityscape while thinking. Intellectually is the stage during, and after reading novels, I enjoy freedom in visualizing words in the mind.

I usually focus a larger time ratio on the conceptual phase. The concept requires in-depth research to fuel the realization.

Interestingly, it is the emotions of constant criticism I had for myself. The design process generally is not about feeling optimistic. Instead, it is more about imaging the most difficult struggles that I might encounter.

A void actually, it felt like there could always be room for improvement.

The design should naturally engage people without too many further explanations. It should be a part of the people and the community.

I think about the design, whether as relevant or not. I reckon a design is "good" if it is connected to the people and making an impact on the community.

Be responsible and considerate of the messages we communicate through designs. Be conscious of the material and technology we implemented and its impact on the environment.

My last exhibition is at the Taipei Free Art Fair, taking place in Taipei City in December 2019.

I am currently planning on holding a solo exhibition next year, after my further development of printed textile installations.

Most of my contextual inspirations come from cultural studies, as well as Chinese literature and poetry. Reading is an excellent source of inspiration. The inspirations for design realization come from approaches to find questions, through observation of the people and the community's behaviors and needs.

The applying of plant and floral motifs is one of the main characteristics of my design approach.

I find the topics about life's transience impactful in my design. The use of symbols representative of life's inevitable cycle, as well as the power in begetting new lives, has always been a prominent aspect in my work.

I was born and raised until 15 years old in Taiwan before moving to Canada to study in high school. I later went on to college and lived in the UK for five years before moving back to Taiwan for work. Recently I traveled frequently between Taiwan and Malaysia for studio works.

The diverse cultural heritage I experienced and gradually embodied in my works over the years is precious to my core identity.

The process began by looking at potential questions that occurred and then looking for solutions.

The research phase would take up intense schedules from contextual, academic, to philosophical fields.

I usually started sketching after initial research. Hand sketching is an efficient method to capture visual ideas quickly. A typical toolbox will include a pencil, 0.28 black pen, charcoal, and oil pastel.

After the initial sketch phase, computer software like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator are my most frequently used tools.

I enjoy working on art installations because they extend from object to space, and it is an exciting process to put ideas and realizations to the test.

I am planning to start an accessory brand in the future, with a core material based on printed textiles and original pattern library.

I am also working on developing The Withering Flower collection. I am looking forward to building larger-scale art installations with the textile technique, and further developing the contextual studies on ideas of the abject in Chinese culture.

Email: angela@helloronron.com

Instagram: @angela_chiang_