The main purpose of this practice-led research is to explore the relevance of
present day Taiwanese aboriginal weavers’ work to contemporary society
and how it might be integrated into today’s production processes, and used
on stage as well as in exhibition. My research focuses on my costume design
work for two theatrical productions, Africussion and Romeo and Juliet, for
which the costumes were made with traditional Taiwanese aboriginal woven
textiles, and is based on the assumption that the process of costume design
affords a space to explore other aesthetic possibilities for aboriginal woven
textiles, and that the theatre provides a context in which the conventional
conceptions of Taiwanese aboriginal textile design can be challenged, broken
apart and renewed.
This research deals with both the theoretical and the practical considerations
that apply to aboriginal weaving, and examines the intellectual traditions of
the philosophy of art and aesthetics to be found in its theory and application.
My thesis challenges the notion upheld by many of today’s aboriginal
weavers that their ‘traditions’ are fixed and unchangeable, and argues for
the importance of individual creativity if modern, contemporary needs and
tastes in textiles are to be met by materials woven in the aboriginal way.
My practice-led research is grounded on the techniques of aboriginal backstrap
loom and weaving and basket weaving, which were learned from
aboriginal weavers in a 20-month tribal fieldwork. This project approaches
aboriginal woven textiles as artistic objects in the context of theatre
productions and performances instead of as mere commercial entities. It also
argues that theatrical costume design is much more than just the making of
simple costumes that complement performances
