Allow me to take you back to the 60's, that is as far back as I
can start.
Those days, economics was poor. One of the things we could not
afford was a good, warmth, quality blanket to cover us during our
sleep. Our parents would gather pieces of cloth leftover, cut them
into regular shapes(usually squares), machines them together and
then we have a blanket over us.
Sometimes it takes months to complete one such blanket. Reason
maybe 1)you need to collect enough unwanted leftover cloths
2)hand-stitched(because could not afford a machine) 3)having to
work, cook and take care of the children and parents.
In the end the blanket looks like a rojak of colors and pattern and
even cloth material. But it does serves the purpose of covering
ones during a cold night. Of course this is no comparision to one
of high quality wool blanket.
One other chance you may get a wool is when, after a funeral you
are left behind with some towels and blanket. Some clans send
decorated blanket with messages of condolences to the bereaved
family instead of floral wreath.
The Fabric of the Nation I would see is a representation showing
people from all walks of life coming in together contributing a
little warmth to those in needs during the SARS outbreak.
It gives us a visual reminder of the outbreak, how anxieties
reigned then, how we came together to fight as one against a then
unknown and unseen enemies and how some fellow being succumbed to
the deadly diseases in the course of their work serving the
sickly.
You must not view the exhibits as a piece of visual arts but feel
the warmth that it could provide one.
