Yao Hong Ying Embroidery Exhibition hits Newspaper Headline

Silk skills exhibited at temple
Thursday, 20 January 2011
By CHRIS HARROWELL
Howick and Pakuranga Times

A STUNNING collection is giving people an insight into the talents of a well-known artist.
The show of works at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Flat Bush includes 42 pieces by Yao Hong Ying.

Yao, who hails from Suzhou in China, specialises in embroidering subjects from classical ink paintings and animals, to scenery and Buddhas. One of her pieces, Mandarava, depicts 500 Buddhas, each of differing size, expression and posture. The work took three years to complete and used 180 different coloured silk threads. Linda Daniell, Buddha’s Light International Association’s vice-president, says everyone who visits the exhibition will be “astounded by Yao’s undeniable skill”.

“It’s considered to be one of the finest and most respected artistic skills used to decorate clothing, domestic items and objects of art such as paintings and screens,” she says. “Traditionally, the embroidery echoes the favoured art and fashion of the period.
“Through the use of coloured silk and intricate needle techniques, it depicts themes ranging from animals and scenery to social scenes and Buddhist art.”

Yao’s home town is famous for its Su Xiu embroidery style, which is one of the four most famous styles in China and dates back more than 2000 years.
She says: “Embroidery not only requires skills in needlework, the embroiderer also needs to intuitively comprehend the intended effect of the art.

“Only through the combination of your hands and heart can you bring out the vitality of the embroidery.”