Intertextuality: Tracing meanings through textiles

A research study was conducted at the Abui tribe in Takpala, a village off Alor, Indonesia in 2015. Working together with linguists from NTU, observations were made on how the Abui people created textiles using traditional weaving techniques and tools. Oral interviews held with them have provided insights on how textiles are connected to their everyday life and language. Deeper conversational exchanges also revealed some of the stories and meanings that are inter-weaved into the textiles using symbols and patterns. An interactive installation was designed and implemented to communicate the findings from the field study and the concept of intertextuality, as part of the knowledge transfer objectives of the project. This paper reviews the findings of the field study, the design and reactions of the interactive installation.