In Good Hands

Anne Samat’s sculptures woven from domestic materials bring attention to the art of weaving and the challenges of being a malaysian woman.

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Boldly colourful, with sharp, protruding metallic edges, smooth tapestry surfaces and textured braided strands, Malaysian artist Anne Samat’s wall sculptures are woven by hand using fibres and found objects. With the mixed materials, her artworks appear simultaneously hard and soft, alluding to the complexity of identity and nationhood.

For Samat’s works, the whole is certainly greater than the sum of its parts, and the components contribute significantly to the overall message. With the use of primarily functional household items such as the colander and the fork to make her aesthetically arresting artworks, one cannot help but think about the Chinese saying that praises the woman who is as adept in the kitchen as she is presentable in the living room, calling to question the role of women in today’s society.

Art Republik speaks with Anne Samat to learn more about the traditional weaving techniques she creatively employs to make her contemporary artworks, the concepts behind them, and what she has planned for her upcoming solo show with Richard Koh Fine Art in August.

How would you prefer to have your artworks described? As textile design, weavings, sculptures or contemporary fibre art? How much does the label matter?

To be honest, it doesn’t matter to me. This is not politics. Art is magic, universal, subjective and open to any interpretation.

When and how did you pick up weaving? What is it about weaving that appeals to you as an artist?

It all started when I was at university. I knew nothing about weaving when I was a student. That’s the reason why I took weaving as my major. I wanted to learn something completely new and different.