Contrast Issue 4

April 2025

Meta space gallery

Hong Kong: A Study in Material, Memory, and Place

Mia Upton’s woven series is a study of past and present, permanence and impermanence, value and waste. Created from cashmere using soft black and white-cream yarn sourced from industry waste, the pieces transform discarded material into intricate compositions that capture the fleeting textures of city life. Through Jacquard weaving, Upton merges photography, illustration, and textile craftsmanship to explore overlooked urban spaces and the quiet moments that define them.

At its core, this body of work is an inquiry into memory and materiality. Inspired by photographs her grandfather shared - images of the Hong Kong he knew in his youth - Upton reinterprets these glimpses of the past through the tactile language of weaving. The softness of cashmere contrasts with the rigid structures of the city, just as the act of weaving itself preserves ephemeral moments, turning them into something enduring.

The series challenges dominant visual narratives of Hong Kong, shifting attention from spectacle and commerce to the rhythms of daily life. Each woven piece offers a different perspective, yet together, they form a collective meditation on place and identity. The repetition of motifs-architectural details, figures at rest, traces of movement - mirrors the ebb and flow of urban existence, where the past lingers within the present.

By working with reclaimed materials, Upton also examines the tension between disposability and preservation. In a world of fast consumption, her practice transforms waste into something valuable, just as memory and history are continually rewoven into contemporary experience. This series is not just a representation of city life but a reimagining of it - an intricate study of contrast, material, and the quiet significance of the everyday.

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Visit the Contrast Issue 4 exhibition! It runs from the 1st of May to the 14th of July 2025.