Home as Hat: Lora David

"Lora David" 2017 from the Home as Hat series

Much like the hand made Vietnamese leaf hat known as Nón Lá, this conical hat I wove for this image was inspired by the Nón Bái Tho, the "Poetical Leaf" hat from Hue in Central Vietnam. On the inside of each hat poems  were woven into the very fibers of the hat. When you lift the hat up to the sun, you could read romantic poems, provers or old sayings in the shadows!!!

This variation of the palm leaf and bamboo hat is a cone consisting of sixteen bamboo ribs with palm leaves stitched into place with thread made from reed. A verse of poetry was usually cut from the palm leaf and inserted in between the layers. Modern versions also include paper shapes as well as poetry.

Hats cover, protect and shelter us when we are out in the elements much like our homes. This particular version I created this week has finally started to express the visual narrative I was hoping to achieve. Next step will be to layer the hats over the head of my subjects, stitching their homes into a hat thereby connecting them into their physical space.

Julie Green
January 28, 2017