G39 ✿ Ancestors are Here
“Every breath ever taken is still in the air to breathe. I breathe the breaths of the Ancestors, and everybody else’s too. Always was, always is, always will be.”
Tyson Yunkaporta, Sand Talk
The second issue in our Storylines series features objects that keep alive connections to the generations whose world we have inherited.
The past is not past. We are conditioned to see history as incremental progress, where the present is necessarily more enlightened and more knowledgeable than the past. While this reflects a positive striving to advance, it can encourage disdain for those who came before. But this denies the debt we inherit, not least in the language we speak and the stories we tell.
By acknowledging this debt, we can reflect on the legacy that our own generation will leave. Many cultures express gratitude in festivals and rituals that reconnect with ancestors. However, in modern life, the past is often relegated to neglected cemeteries and dusty photo albums. The culture-makers in this issue find ways of giving presence to those no longer with us. The stories acknowledge the value of what has been passed down, including craft techniques, tales, inspiring deeds, and heirlooms. This involves translating the past into today’s language. Our new materials and techniques can help keep this connection alive for future generations.
As well as the makers who have generously shared their stories, special thanks to Rosa Cass-Simpson, Shivani Gandhi, Melinda Rankin Nabil Qaduumi, Teiren Taka, and Shirabe Yamada.
Threads across time
- Three dresses rescued from Rafah: Palestinian culture hangs by a thread by Amer Shomali, Sunbula & Rachel Dedman
- Laurie Paine ✿ Weaving a lost homeland by Laurie Paine
- Interweaving the archive: A homage to brave women by Colectiva Tramando
- Abantu: Threads That Bind Us by Khanya Mthethwa
- Stitching memory: How Siddi women in India preserve memory through quilting by Shrey Maurya
- Weaving Matter: Handing down the language of textiles by Inga Walton
- Verweban: A textile homage to the “somebodies” in textile factories by Flossie Peitsch
- Pashmina: An ancestral legacy in the machine age by Fiba Arif & Irfan Ahmad
Ancestral encounters
- Niloufar Lovegrove ✿ Hands full of wisdom by Pamela See
- Remembering and reframing: Sancintya Mohini Simpson by Elena Dias-Jayasinha
- Ègbáliganza 2025: Traditional regalia honours of the ancestors by Emmanuel Solate
- In search of the fili: A workshop for encountering ancestors by Colm McNaughton
- Decennial universal soul salvation during Singapore’s Hungry Ghost Month by Angela Sim
- Deep roots: Chinese Peranakan heritage in Java by Janet Teowarang
- The fabric of migration by Lella Cariddi
- The art of Bahi Khata: India’s handwritten legacy of accounts and ancestry by Priyanka Kochar
From the earth
- Takashi Wakamiya ✿ Lacquer master and founder of Hikoju Makie by Bic Tieu
- Finding Vomit Girl: A pilgrimage to the source of mộc mạc by Mai Nguyen-Long
- The guardian tiger: Ancestral protection by Nani Puspasari
- The tale of Nneburube by Ngozi Omeje
- Nonna’s Abundant Protection from the Malocchio by Celine Babet
- Data archeology in clay by Guillaume Slizewicz
- Stories, theatre and worship: The sacred masks of Majuli by Aishani Gupta
Contemporary currents
- A driftwood testament by Dean Greeno
- Mobile ancestral hall by Tammy Wong
- The NFT Mother of God by Emma Cieslik
- Woven in stone: Bringing ancient Indonesia to life on the loom by Bernhard Bart
- The Rest of Us: Soft publishing as an act of radical care by Justy Philips
- Ramayana Reimagined: A tale with a thousand voices by Natasha Sarka
- A Handmade’s Tale by D Wood
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This issue is dedicated to the memory of Takashi Wakamiya (1964–2025), lacquer master and founder of the Hikoju Makie studio in Wajima, Japan.
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