The making of songket textile art piece : Phoenix from the Flames

Songket, the age-old technique of creating exquisite fabric using the most precious of threads. At Tanoti, many of our artisans have been weaving songket for ten years, and their skills are beyond comparison. COVID-19 affected most of humanity and cast a large cloud of dread and anxiety onto human lives all over the world. The Tanoti community is working hard to overcome the economic effects of this pandemic as we imagine new ways to create and to keep ourselves productive.

Phoenix from the Flames depicts our fighting spirit to emerge triumphant from severe challenges. A young weaver, Armesya, was appointed to undertake this piece and she completed it almost singularly. We documented the entire process through the 5 months of its making – an realistic presentation of how mere threads can work together to compose a masterpiece.

We wish to thank our collaborator Maybank Foundation under the Maybank Women-Eco Weavers Programme for supporting the training of young songket weavers and for its sponsorship of this video. We also extend our appreciation to the Filmmakers Company for agreeing to take on such a drawn-out project and the whole time taking beautiful shots.