Exhibitions Now On
Memories on the Clouds - Atayal (泰雅族) Horizontal Backstrap Loom Exploration Exhibition
Memories on the Clouds - Atayal (泰雅族) Horizontal Backstrap Loom Exploration Exhibition
Exhibition Period: 1/1~3/15
Location: Gallery 1C, Taichung Museum of Fiber Arts (臺中市纖維工藝博物館)
The Museum of Fiber Arts has planned a trilogy of loom-themed exhibitions from 2023 to 2025, featuring the jacquard loom, the high loom, and the ground loom, telling the history of weaving, weaving techniques, and cultural progress in Taiwan in reverse chronological order.
2023's "Loom Trilogy (I): Exploration of Jacquard Textiles" focused on the combination of technology and textiles, showing how computer systems assist in developing broader possibilities for textile craft.
2024's "Loom Trilogy (II): Exploration of High Loom Textiles" returned to the dialogue between yarn, looms, and handwork, discussing the technical development of floor-standing and tabletop high looms and their application in life, industry, and education.
2025's third installment focuses on the "Horizontal Backstrap Loom," presenting the "Memories on the Clouds - Atayal (泰雅族) Horizontal Backstrap Loom Exploration Exhibition." For centuries, the Atayal (泰雅族) people have lived on both sides of the Central Mountain Range in northern Taiwan. Due to environmental changes or tribal migration, they have used this portable horizontal backstrap loom (kongu) to weave clothes, recording family weaving skills, cultural totems, ancestral beliefs, and the physical connection between the weaver and the loom.
The exhibition includes the structure of the loom, the circular view of life, the physical sensation between the loom and the human body, and the five major weaving techniques of the Atayal (泰雅族) tribe. It also explores why young weavers in the Da'an River area continue to weave, offering an in-depth look at current loom usage and cultural inheritance through interactive zones and multi-sensory media.
*Structure of the Ground Loom
During weaving, the warp threads remain horizontal to the ground, and the loom and weaver are connected by a strap. Through physical strength, the weaver controls the tension of the fabric.
*Circular View of Life
Yaki (Grandma/阿嬤) says that life is like a woven circle. Every stage of life has its corresponding textile; from birth to death, every stage of life's journey is marked and witnessed by cloth.
*The Body Between Weaver and Loom
When weaving with a ground loom, the physical sensation is a wonderful experience. When the strap embeds the weaver into the loom, the weaver also becomes part of the weaving tool.
*Five Major Weaving Techniques of the Atayal (泰雅族)
pala (plain weave), snuyu (twill), st’lian (small jacquard), sebuhan (float weave), l’mamu (pick-up weaving).
Atayal (泰雅族) women use these weaving principles interchangeably, and weavers over centuries have created many shimmering patterns through accumulation and transmission.
Therefore, for Atayal (泰雅族) weavers, the traditional ground loom is like a contemporary USB, capable of transmitting weaving skills, cultural totems, ancestral beliefs, and other cultural emotions.
When weavers use traditional looms, they connect with the memories of ancestors "on the clouds," making weaving a belief of identity and a form of cultural care.
Exhibition Period: 1/1~3/15
Location: Gallery 1C, Taichung Museum of Fiber Arts (臺中市纖維工藝博物館)
The Museum of Fiber Arts has planned a trilogy of loom-themed exhibitions from 2023 to 2025, featuring the jacquard loom, the high loom, and the ground loom, telling the history of weaving, weaving techniques, and cultural progress in Taiwan in reverse chronological order.
2023's "Loom Trilogy (I): Exploration of Jacquard Textiles" focused on the combination of technology and textiles, showing how computer systems assist in developing broader possibilities for textile craft.
2024's "Loom Trilogy (II): Exploration of High Loom Textiles" returned to the dialogue between yarn, looms, and handwork, discussing the technical development of floor-standing and tabletop high looms and their application in life, industry, and education.
2025's third installment focuses on the "Horizontal Backstrap Loom," presenting the "Memories on the Clouds - Atayal (泰雅族) Horizontal Backstrap Loom Exploration Exhibition." For centuries, the Atayal (泰雅族) people have lived on both sides of the Central Mountain Range in northern Taiwan. Due to environmental changes or tribal migration, they have used this portable horizontal backstrap loom (kongu) to weave clothes, recording family weaving skills, cultural totems, ancestral beliefs, and the physical connection between the weaver and the loom.
The exhibition includes the structure of the loom, the circular view of life, the physical sensation between the loom and the human body, and the five major weaving techniques of the Atayal (泰雅族) tribe. It also explores why young weavers in the Da'an River area continue to weave, offering an in-depth look at current loom usage and cultural inheritance through interactive zones and multi-sensory media.
*Structure of the Ground Loom
During weaving, the warp threads remain horizontal to the ground, and the loom and weaver are connected by a strap. Through physical strength, the weaver controls the tension of the fabric.
*Circular View of Life
Yaki (Grandma/阿嬤) says that life is like a woven circle. Every stage of life has its corresponding textile; from birth to death, every stage of life's journey is marked and witnessed by cloth.
*The Body Between Weaver and Loom
When weaving with a ground loom, the physical sensation is a wonderful experience. When the strap embeds the weaver into the loom, the weaver also becomes part of the weaving tool.
*Five Major Weaving Techniques of the Atayal (泰雅族)
pala (plain weave), snuyu (twill), st’lian (small jacquard), sebuhan (float weave), l’mamu (pick-up weaving).
Atayal (泰雅族) women use these weaving principles interchangeably, and weavers over centuries have created many shimmering patterns through accumulation and transmission.
Therefore, for Atayal (泰雅族) weavers, the traditional ground loom is like a contemporary USB, capable of transmitting weaving skills, cultural totems, ancestral beliefs, and other cultural emotions.
When weavers use traditional looms, they connect with the memories of ancestors "on the clouds," making weaving a belief of identity and a form of cultural care.
Event Details
- 2026-01-01 — 臺中市纖維工藝博物館