Since 2019, CHAT’s flagship community programme Seed to Textile has been acquainting artists and the public with the connections between nature, textiles and art, offering hands-on experiences ranging from farming to gallery practice. This year, we have invited Hong Kong artist Sara Tse to explore how nature and textiles weave into people’s memories and, during the process, unravel and reweave communal experiences by collecting oral histories and co-creating with the public.

Since 2015, Tse has been researching and documenting the history of Kwai Chung Public School. Perched atop a hill and nestled in nature on Castle Peak Road in Kwai Chung since 1952, it was once a cradle of memories for numerous alumni who call Tsuen Wan home. Based on her now-demolished alma mater, Tse led ‘Seeders’ – comprising fellow alumni across generations and members of the public – to revive the botanical heritage precious to them. At the rooftop farm of The Mills and a village school farm, they planted common Hong Kong species that had thrived at the school. These plants, native to some regions and invasive elsewhere, are powerful testaments to personal and collective memories, embodying distinct meanings and identities. Tse and Seeders produced natural dyes and fibres from the harvest for collaborative workshops with public participants, including ceramic making, textile dyeing, cyanotype photography and branch weaving. This effort has manifested the enduring link between humanity and nature, embedded in our collective experience and passed down through generations.

Collaborators and Planting Partners:
Pak Heung Central Primary School
Creative and Professional Writing Programme, Hong Kong Baptist University
Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden
Sustainable Ecological Ethical Development Foundation