From the late 18th century to the mid-19th century, HMong communities emigrated from their indigenous home in southern China, arriving in what are today Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
With them moved a rich tradition of textile arts, especially distinctive and colorful garments. The clothing sewn and worn by women even defines several groups, like the White/Blue, Green, Striped, Black, and Flower HMong.
While there is no word for “art” in the HMong language, a narrative textile tradition evolved in the 1970s from their embroidery designs known as paj ntaub—story cloths or flower cloths.
Narrative Textiles
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. covertly recruited HMong men and boys to fight what became known as “The Secret War” in Laos, and in doing so, made them enemies of communist forces. Thousands were forced to flee to Thailand, risking their lives, when the U.S. pulled out of the conflict in 1975.
As political refugees, more than 100,000 HMong people eventually migrated to the U.S., where private organizations settled families predominantly in California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Artist Mao Lor, who immigrated to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1984, lived for a time in a refugee camp in Thailand. There, she honed her skills with paj ntaub, and since, she has created dozens.
“My mother taught me everything I needed to know about life, such as the ways of sewing and making clothes,” Lor says in a video produced for the exhibition Mao Lor: A Journey through Hmoob Paj Ntaub at The Paine in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Story cloths like Lor’s are also an influence for artists like Ger Xiong/Ntxawg Xyooj, who co-curated the show. He says, “I think paj ntaub is like a concept instead of a physical thing…it can be a multitude of things.”
Telling Contemporary Stories
Xiong takes paj ntaub as one starting point for exploring narrative, craft, and commodification in his work. In college, he began exploring his HMong heritage. “I started to explore what it means to be Hmong—what my history and lineage is as a Hmong person,” he says.
Xiong’s practice also draws upon time-honored HMong motifs. “Through metals and jewelry, I began to look into the patterns, colors, and symbols of our jewelry, which is used often in my work.”
His most recent work combines jewelry, textiles, and performance “to explore loss, absence, and reclamation of Hmong identity, history, and culture.”
His workshop series at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in November invited the public to bring small objects that represent grief, which will be attached to an overwhelmingly heavy necklace titled Re/member.
As refugees from their homeland, the HMong people are diasporic. Minneapolis-based artist Tshab Her says, “Because we don’t have a land called our own, and we’ve just been able to adapt wherever we are…I was just thinking, how do we claim who we are so that we are treated well?”
Her’s work explores traditional techniques like embroidery while applying cultural motifs to other objects, such as badges, flags, or banners. Her piece #hmongspace, which takes the form of patterned stickers that can be put virtually anywhere, actively claims space for HMong culture.
As new generations of HMong Americans consider the evolution of their cultural heritage, artists look to the past to create safe spaces for sharing stories. Art is one conduit for this, such as a series of painting workshops Her led for HMong elders in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The artist says, “I wanted this project to be an opportunity for them to reflect on their own lives and make time for themselves.”