Fol(d)iage
Siti Syuhada Binti Sapno (Syu)
MALAYSIA
For ‘Let’s Talk’ Syu talks to Sharaad Kuttan about her interest in botany.
Syu, Creative Director at the Urban Biodiversity Initiative, began her interest in plants when she started running guided walks at the Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden, a tropical garden established for research, conservation and education at the University of Malaya. Inspired in particular by ethnobotany Syu chose to apply for a grant from the PARDICOLOR Creative Arts Fund to research and document traditional food wrapping in Peninsular Malaysia. The project’s name ‘Fol(d)iage’ is explained by Syu as; “foliage referring to leaves of various of species used with the insertion of the letter ‘d’ to indicate it as ‘fold’, the art of weaving and wrapping food”.
“I discovered the beauty of using plants as food wraps and as a tool to cook food.”
Here we feature artwork from ‘Fol(d)iage’ which tells the story of traditional food wrapping in Malaysia through cross-stitch art.
Ketupat palas
Medium:
14 count Aida fabric on 4 inch hoop
4 colours of DMC cotton embroidery floss
Description:
Ketupat palas is a glutinous rice delicacy that is wrapped using daun palas or fan palm (Licuala spinosa). The leaf needs to be twisted to prepare a little cone to place glutinous rice inside and then it is wrapped into a triangular shape.
Ketupat nasi
Medium:
14 count Aida fabric on 4 inch hoop
4 colours of DMC cotton embroidery floss
Description:
The leaf of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is woven to create a kelongsong (casing) where dried rice will be about 3/4 filled. It is then boiled until rice is cooked. This is a seasonal dish where it is usually found during the Eid celebration. The ketupat nasi stays close to my heart as it is my family's annual tradition to weave the kelongsong together the 1-2 days before Eid celebration. In my family, we serve this dish with rendang daging. As I stitch this piece it reminds me of home.
“The art form of weaving techniques can capture the intricacy or complexity of nature itself. ”
According to Syu “Traditionally, leaves of various plants were highly utilised in Malaysia’s traditional foods [but] the culture is slowly being forgotten before our very eyes as more ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ pop-up cafes and restaurants come into play.”
At exhibitions and workshops held at both GMBBKL (a creative community mall in Bukit Bintang) and Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden Syu, alongside Sapno Tukijo who taught Syu how to weave, displayed unique food wrappings and demonstrated the use of foliage to wrap food.
