Discovering Textiles - The Tree of Life

The 2015 the Pohon Budi exhibition, curated by Edric Ong and Manjari Nirula, was shown in Kuala Lumpur. 

Pohon Budi is the name of the tree motif that is found in Malaysian shadow puppets. This is the Bhodi tree under which the Buddha found enlightenment and it appears in many cultures across the globe. In this exhibition the tree is depicted in different forms and from different countries. Have a look at this article about the show and click on one of the images to see more of the pieces in the collection, which included the silk ikat from Uzbekistan on this page. You can also try this video to hear more about the exhibition, listen to an interview with the two curators on Hawaiian radio (scroll down the linked page to access it) and read about the Tree of Life motif on ClothRoads here.

Edric Ong is an architect and founder of Society Atelier and held the post of Senior Vice-President of World Crafts Council – Asia Pacific as did Manjari Nirula, who is a member of the Delhi Crafts Council and is based in the city.