As her hands move, her heart beats in the rhythm of monsoons is a site-specific sculpture by transdisciplinary artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya that pays homage to enduring matrilineal legacies of Thailand’s rural communities.
Cascading strands of crimson knots and textiles adorn bouquets of rattan vessels—remnants of structures that nurture silkworm cultivation. Precariously clustered, the motif evokes a fragmented archive of ancestral wisdoms gathered in our consciousness, teetering at the precipice of oblivion. Striking vermilion fibers unfurl from this hanging talisman, conjuring bountiful bundles of foraged flora, bunches of nourishing bounty reverentially collected, forest canopies swaying with the cadenced rains of the monsoon. Shaped by cultural traditions and rites of passage of womanhood, the red color is a bold declaration of conviction to care for one’s community.
Drawn from the artist’s months-long research journey in North and Northeast Thailand (Ban Kru Chang Som Sri, Ban Pa Toom Pa Thai communities), this monument simultaneously evokes nourishment and deprivation, the stewardship of nature, and the transmission of intergenerational knowledge.
To hold sacred the transmission of ancestral wisdom from grandmothers, to mothers, to daughters and the hands of hundred of matriarchs who guided the artist’s sojourn in Thailand, the artist engaged AAPI elders from her New York community to contribute to the piece and infuse it with their touch, their stories, and their legacy.
An elegiac yet celebratory chorus resonates amidst the sensuous materiality, honoring the perseverance of matriarchal heritage.
Scenes from the studio
ARTIST STATEMENT
In the studio with “As her hands move, her heart beats in the rhythm of monsoons”, I felt grounded and rooted to legacies of resistance, resilience, and transformation. I felt the hands of matriarchs guiding me, grounding me with their strength, as I held sacred the transmission of ancestral wisdom from grandmothers to mothers to daughters. Enveloped by these threshing baskets, surrounded by fiber, I heard the murmurs of ancestors and the gentle sound of rice falling in a dream.
This sculpture is my homage to my roots. Cascading strands of crimson knots burst from threshing baskets—echoes of silkworm cultivation and rice harvest that nurture life and livelihood—a fragmented archive of ancestral wisdom, gathered and kept safe within my consciousness, balancing on the precarious edge of my memory.
In some parts of Northern Thailand, red is the the color of duty, donned by women when they come of age as an outward representation of commitment to collective care for their community members, a bold reminder of the strength it takes to protect and sustain one’s community. These vermilion fibers unfurl like bundles of foraged herbs, recalling forest canopies swaying with the rhythm of heavy rains. Every detail is a declaration of the courage to carry our communities forward.
To honor the unseen labor of matriarchs I studied with, hundreds of hours have been poured into this work—into each knot, each weave, each stitch. This process is my offering, a way to acknowledge their too often unsung labor that sustains generations and living heritage.
Imbued with the spirit of Ban Kru Chang Som Sri and Ban Pa Toom Pa Thai matriarchs, this piece holds both nourishment and loss and reflects nature’s stewardship and the precious but fading transmission of knowledge from generation to generation.
I was honored to invite my NYC-based AAPI aunties into the studio to imbue this work with their touch, stories, laughter, and legacies. Touched by many hands and hearts, this sculpture is a living tribute to the resilience and wisdom of matriarchs, a testament to the enduring strength that holds communities together. It celebrates the beauty of shared histories, the power of collective care, and the unbreakable threads that bind generations across time and space.