Becoming Flower s marks the first solo exhibition in Hong Kong by Oh Haji, recipient of the Audience Prize at the ANTEPRIMA x CHAT Contemporary Textile Art Prize 2024 . It traces her use of textile materials and techniques to express diasporic memory, female resilience, communal healing and celebration.
Oh employs weaving, embroidery and dyeing to give tangible form to unspoken personal stories. Her artistic journey began with exploring her identity as a third-generation Zainichi Korean born and raised in Japan, and later extended to engaging the public through various workshops, where she reimagines textile craft as a form of communal work that connects strangers and deepens bonds.
The flower motif threads through her work as a metaphor for cultural identity and the inner strength required to thrive amid displacement. Whether honouring her mother and grandmother or anonymous women throughout history, Oh’s costumes and community creations call to mind the richness of individual lives and the human experience.