Memo from the Great Mother: Aluaiy Kaumakan Solo Exhibition

Written by Wei-Lun, Lu

In one of the ancient myths of the Paridrayan Tribe, when the sun shines on the clay pot, the first child born from the clay pot is a baby girl. She then became the first mazazangiljan (chieftain), became the ancestor of the mazazangiljan, and created the structure and order of this community. For generations, the women of the mazazangiljan have inherited her blood, carrying on her glory, but also bearing her responsibility.

However, as time goes on, the folklore has lost its context fading like scattered feathers in the winds of change. In the last century, after Taiwan underwent massive economic structural changes, young tribal members left their hometowns for the cities. As the descendant of the mazazangiljan, Aluaiy Kaumakan also rebelled against the classical fate of women under a certain struggle and urgency for survival, venturing alone to distant lands, drifting freely.

In 2009, Typhoon Morakot struck and scattered the Paridrayan Tribe. Under the evacuation policy, the community left their ancestral land and were forced to relocate to temporary residences. When Aluaiy Kaumakan returned home, she saw only a landscape of ruins. Perhaps it was the call of the Great Mother echoing in her ears once again; from that day on, she walked back into this tight-knit social structure, back into the glory and responsibility of mazazangiljan.

At the end of the last century, Italian writer Italo Calvino, facing their civilization, wrote Six Memos for the Next Millennium. We always thought that art could be free, so why should we concern ourselves with leaving records as eras change? After Aluaiy Kaumakan returned to the tribe, she joined the community organization and devoted herself to the cohesion and operation of the new community. Her heart was full of the protection of both new and old life, as well as the trivial matters. In her works in recent years, she began to gather women from different generations to create together, from the elderly to young girls, exchanging and safeguarding techniques and memories that were once lost between generations in the face of collective trauma from disaster.

Many claim that Indigenous peoples are not ethnic groups with written languages. But within those crochet, weaves, twine, and knits lies their boundless promises and hopes. Endlessly complex and ceaselessly mindful, these patterns form the Great Mother’s memo to the future world.

Exhibition Duration｜July 6, 2024 (Sat.) – August 2, 2024 (Fri.)

Opening｜July 6, 2024 (Sat.) 15:00

Venue｜Liang Gallery, 1st Floor (No.366, Ruiguang Rd., Neihu District, Taipei, Taiwan)

武玉玲 Aluaiy Kaumakan

Born in 1971 in Paridrayan Tribe, Sandimen Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan, Aluaiy Kaumakan is the eldest daughter of the mazazangiljan (chieftain) family of the Paiwan Nation. Since childhood, she has been learning from her elders to inherit the culture of the mazazangiljan. In the past society, this identity was not a vain title, but rather more about caring for the lives and inheritance of the ethnic group.

Growing up in this environment, she was exposed to traditional clothing and jewelry from an early age, and during her growth process, she received training in different fields such as jewelry design. Eventually, she integrated various crafting techniques to develop unique soft sculpture works. Her works mostly focus on women’s life experiences, ethnic group memories, and collective trauma and healing after disasters.

She was awarded the First Prize in Visual Arts in the 2018 Pulima Art Awards. Her recent notable exhibition experiences include the 7th Yokohama Triennale in Japan (2020), the Taipei Biennial in Taiwan (2020), the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Australia (2021), the 23rd Biennale of Sydney (2022), and the Hayward Gallery in London (2023).