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Case 06 / 06 Exhibition · Curation · Space

Atayal Thread Installation

Pulling cultural memory into an interactive field — one thread at a time.

Atayal Thread Installation, main view: red, black and white threads pulled from the wall and twisted into a hyperbolic linear structure, terrazzo floor and plain walls, light falling from above — tension within order
Type
Exhibition / Curation
Role
Spatial Design & Art Direction
Location
Banqiao / Xindian, New Taipei
Year
2023
Curatorial Theme

Using the Atayal people's weaving thread as medium and image, the structure of traditional weaving is turned into a linear installation in space. Visitors move through it and see the density and crossing of the threads from different angles — feeling the order and tension within the weave.

Atayal Thread Installation, close view: red, black and white threads stretched parallel along the wall then twisted, forming a warped hyperbolic surface, layers showing between the threads, light reflecting on the terrazzo floor
01

Challenge

Culture-themed exhibitions often fall into two traps — neatly lining up artefacts with no feeling, or over-interpreting and losing the original meaning. Letting visitors not just “look at” Atayal weaving but move through it and feel its order first-hand was the heart of this curation.

Atayal Thread Installation with display wall: a white triangular steel frame strung taut with red, black and white thread, behind it panels on the Atayal origin legend and a Wulai wildlife wall, the thread structure floating at the centre
Atayal Thread Installation, overall: through glass, the interlacing red, black and white threads within the white frame, with giant 'Atayal' calligraphy and tribal portrait walls behind, forming a complete curatorial narrative
02

Curation & Art

Pulling the thread from flat cloth into a three-dimensional structure in space — keeping the red, black and white of Atayal weaving, so the order of traditional patterns is enlarged in the gallery and walked into.

Beyond the installation, red, white and black blocks staggered as display platforms carry the costume dolls and captions of each people, giving the whole exhibition one consistent visual language.

Indigenous costume display: traditional costume dolls of each people on staggered red, white and black blocks, a stone wall and an 'Amis' caption card behind, the platforms brisk and orderly in rhythm
Indigenous costume display, full view: with 'Nanshi River' as the backdrop wall, Seediq, Puyuma, Kavalan and other costume dolls on red, white and black block platforms, forming a line of cultural circulation
03

Outcome

The thread installation became the visual core and photo point of the exhibition; moving through, visitors naturally stopped, drew close and circled around — cultural memory became an experience you could walk through yourself.