Threads of EXPRESSION

In conversation with Marcos Kueh: on weaving culture, memory, and identity.

- By TAN SU FEN

For Malaysian contemporary artist Marcos Kueh, weaving is more than a craft — it’s an act of storytelling and self-discovery. Born and raised in Borneo, Kueh channels his Chinese-Sarawakian heritage into intricate textiles, transforming ancestral traditions into contemporary legends. Long before the written word reached his homeland, Borneo’s myths and histories were etched onto fabric — a practice Kueh revives with a modern sensibility, blending personal narrative with cultural memory.

His tapestries — some stretching eight metres, others small enough to hold in your hands — are more than visual statements; they are woven diaries. Each thread carries his lived experiences, his thoughts and musings, and vulnerable explorations of culture and identity. At first glance, they stun with their grandeur; up close, they reveal painstaking details that evoke something deeply familiar yet impossible to articulate — like a half-remembered dream.

Since winning the Ron Mandos Young Blood Prize in 2022, Kueh’s work has resonated far beyond Malaysia, with exhibitions in Osaka, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Now based in The Hague, he continues to unravel the complexities of identity, belonging and the unseen labour behind the textiles we wear — one thread at a time.

L'OFFICIEL: What first drew you to textiles as a medium, and how has your relationship with it evolved?