Holly Wong Body of Light, 2023
Silk, cotton, and organza with LED lighting
180” x 60” x 48
Presented by Slate Contemporary, Booth A03
Body of Light is a suspended installation of fabric and light. Holly Wong became attracted to working with reflective, transparent fabrics because it reminded her of the permeable separation between the living and the dead. In this public project for San Francisco Art Market, Wong created a quilt suspension, using a flat felled seam technique with silk, cotton, and netting, inspired by Korean Bojagi patchwork technique. She combined these ephemeral materials with LED strip lighting as a proxy for her mother’s rising spirit. The layers of pieced fabric are suspended over this light-spirit as a shroud or mourning cloth. Inspired by Chinese funeral customs, the quilt layers become burial blankets that are offered by the children of the deceased and layered upon their loved ones. The intent of this work is to reach out to the viewer with a spirit of healing.
Holly Wong was born in North Miami Beach FLA. She was educated at the San Francisco Art Institute where she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts with a concentration in New Genres. Wong has participated in over 80 exhibitions including group shows at the de Young Museum, the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, and Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Art. Wong has been awarded visual arts grants from the Integrity: Arts and Culture Association, Barbara Deming Memorial fund, the George Sugarman Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and a Gerbode Foundation purchase award. She is represented by SLATE Contemporary Gallery in Oakland, CA. Wong lives and works in San Francisco, CA.