Dowry of the Soul: Weaving Memory, Trauma, and Renewal Through Textile Art
- Gen de Art
- 28 minutes ago
- 4 min read
CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) presents Dowry of the Soul, the largest solo exhibition to date by Kazakh artist Gulnur Mukazhanova, on view in Hong Kong until 1 March 2026. Featuring more than one hundred vividly coloured and painstakingly crafted textile works, the exhibition offers an expansive examination of Central Asian cultural practices while inviting audiences into a deeply emotional and introspective journey shaped by memory, trauma, and the ongoing search for resilience.
Gulnur Mukazhanova with False Hope or Moment or the Present (2018–2025) at The Mills; Installation image of False Hope or Moment or the Present. Images courtesy of CHAT
At the heart of the exhibition is Mukazhanova’s mastery of the ancient art of felt-making—an exacting, tactile process that she transforms into a strikingly contemporary visual language. For the artist, this relationship with textiles runs deeper than medium or technique. “Textile fibres are like the blood running through my body,” she reflects. “Whatever I think or feel in a given moment somehow already exists in a tactile form. Textiles were, in a way, woven into my DNA long before I recognised their significance.”
This profound connection manifests across the exhibition’s sweeping range of felt paintings, photographic works, installations, and participatory pieces. Drawing from the metaphor of the dowry—a culturally rich and symbolically charged tradition in Central Asia—Mukazhanova reimagines textiles as carriers of personal and collective memory. “Because I am part of the collective, my work is both personal and connected to the world around me,” she says. Her pieces channel emotional experience through the body first, then into the fibres themselves, merging intimate personal history with broader narratives of cultural inheritance. “My personal experience is already shaped by my ancestors and the epoch in which they lived. When this is reflected back in my work, it becomes a history that belongs to all of us.”
A Curated Journey Through Emotion and Transformation
Curator Wang Weiwei has shaped the exhibition as a thoughtful progression “from introspection toward renewal,” designing a spatial narrative that mirrors the emotional and material layers of Mukazhanova’s practice. The show opens with textile objects from the artist’s personal collection, grounding visitors in the traditions and symbolism of dowry culture. From there, Gallery 1 immerses viewers in an environment of felt paintings, sound works, and photography—an enveloping world of texture, voice, and associative memory.
In contrast, Gallery 2 offers a contemplative space where sculptural forms engage themes of burning, mending, layering, and transformation. “Not as confrontation, but as gestures of care and resilience,” Wang explains. Interpretive texts throughout the exhibition provide gentle guidance without imposing fixed narratives, encouraging visitors to form their own emotional pathways.
Understanding that many local audiences may be unfamiliar with Central Asian felt traditions, Wang introduced a hands-on “touching station” that allows visitors to feel samples of felt and better understand the making process. “This tactile station emphasises material storytelling… and offers an embodied way for visitors to connect with the work—reinforcing the exhibition’s core message that healing, care, and resilience are part of our shared human experience.”
Image courtesy: Gulnur Mukazhanova / Photo: Thierry Bal
Collective Creation and the Living Artwork
A key highlight of the exhibition is Eternal Renewal, a participatory installation inviting visitors to contribute their own felt masks, created under Mukazhanova’s guidance. For the artist, public involvement is not merely interactive—it is transformative. “When the audience participates, the artwork comes alive—it’s not just mine anymore, it becomes something shared,” she says. “Every gesture, every touch, every presence adds energy and meaning that I could never create alone.”
This philosophy resonates deeply with CHAT’s commitment to co-creation and shared authorship. Wang notes that the participatory element also reflects the institution’s belief in activating the gallery space as a place of dialogue, making, and exchange. Over time, the growing collection of masks becomes a layered testament to communal experience. “What begins as a personal gesture becomes part of a collective rhythm, reinforcing the exhibition’s core message: that healing, care, and transformation are processes we carry—and share—together.”
A Living Tapestry of Memory and Hope
In Dowry of the Soul, Mukazhanova weaves a complex tapestry of ancestral memory, cultural continuity, and the emotional landscapes that shape human experience. The exhibition encourages viewers not only to witness but to participate—physically, emotionally, and imaginatively—in the processes of remembrance and renewal.
The result is an exhibition that is both intimate and expansive, rooted in tradition yet boldly contemporary, and ultimately a powerful reflection on what it means to inherit, transform, and share the stories that shape us.
Exhibition and Event Details:
Gulnur Mukazhanova: Dowry of the Soul
Dates: 14 November 2025 – 1 March 2026 Opening hours: 11:00am – 7:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
Venue: CHAT, 2/F, The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
False Hope or Moment of the Present
Dates: 2–30 November 2025
Opening hours: 10:00am – 10:00pm
Venue: The Hall, The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong