AO

Where people live, where craft remains.

The 'AO' collections were developed during Momoka's art residency in Southwest China Guiyang in 2016.

This is a community project to support their lives, helping them earn money through their incredible heritage and skills.

It was a trip to remember for her lifetime. The BUYI ( written as 布衣, which means fabric and clothes in Mandarin ) lives atop the mountain; they have been weaving textiles for decades. We believe that when practising any form of craft, we cannot ignore the fact these skills and techniques are developed to support our lives, to make our lives better and more pleasant. Meeting them and learning how they work with threads, fabrics, and dyes was an absolute pleasure. We spent 2 weeks together, teaching and sharing knowledge and techniques with each other. At the end of this memorable, precious 2 weeks, we developed a collection of utility products.

They shared with us a problem they are facing at the moment. It is challenging to make a living from craft; we all know this already in the UK ( even in Japan, where Momoka is from ). Despite this great heritage and skills, people in this village must go to bigger cities to get jobs, usually in factories. However, there is a rule that their kids cannot attend schools anywhere but their birth is registered. So often, parents leave their kids to their grandparents in the villages and live in bigger cities to work.

This is a community project to reunite the families. What we can do is so small, and it might not have any impact in the end. However, Momoka believes any little encouragement is essential.

Some of ‘AO’ products are available to purchase. Check Products of ‘AO’.