Aluaiy Kaumakan
Paiwan artist, Aluaiy Kaumakan, was born into the Tavadran tribe of Dashe village, Sandimen town in Pingtung County. As a royal princess, she was exposed to traditional costumes and accessories when she was little and learned weaving techniques. But the expectation on her to “pass down weaving techniques” was such a heavy mission for her, she went to northern Taiwan to work as a nurse. Many years later, she was persuaded by her mother to return home and by chance ended up working in an accessories shop, where she started to get in touch with craft design before embarking on her journey to learn how to modern accessories. Once a jewelry designer reminded her of the difference between out-sourcing manufacturers and designers, she was then enlightened to contemplate on how to create imaginative art on the basis of her mother culture, and to stick to the norms of her tribal traditions. This also set the pattern for her future thinking on art creation. Aluaiy mainly works at weaving, craft design, accessory and jewelry design. For the past few years, she has turned her focus to soft sculpture and installation art, and has also participated in various resident artist projects.
The basic tone of Aluaiy’s artwork is a female narrative, where women are independent individuals and the indispensable core that connects people in the ethnic group and with their inheritance. Her works closely feel the pulse of female microscopic life and ponder the female consciousness. Through hooking, weaving, twining and winding around, she weaves in her sentiments and unique aesthetic, showing her persistent attitude. In her early phase, she mostly combined weaving with diverse stones and beads to design accessories, which emitted a splendid and elegant glory. However, after typhoon Morakot in 2009 which caused her tribal villagers to migrate, her artwork turned towards a deeper and more inward reflection. Instead of focusing on craft design, she is now more concerned with tribal issues. In terms of the artistic disciplines, she has also turned from creating small craft pieces to big-scale soft sculpture and installation art. The cooperative artwork that Aluaiy has invited her tribal people to create with her is a way to heal herself and give her power to move forward. This kind of co-artwork on large-scale sculptures is an effort to explore the possibility of dynamic dialogue with an installation space. It thus enhances the evocative power in the expression of image, showcasing the organic nature and vitality of the shape, and reflects the artist’s courage to constantly challenge herself.
Her recent important artwork includes top prize at the Fourth Pulima Awards in 2016; “Micawar”, Pulima Art Award Exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei; “Woven, Women”, a joint exhibition of Labay Eyong and Aluaiy Kaumakan in Pingtung Art Museum; “Viewing Aboriginal Art–Between Mountain & Sea”, the 31th anniversary exhibition at the Howard Salon in Taipei in 2015; “Ecolution of Taiwan Fiber Art” at National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute in 2014; “A Woman’s Heart Accessory”, goldsmith fiber solo exhibition at Sandimen Cultural Centre in 2014. She has also taken part in the Domaine de Boisbuchet workshop.
