Camille Laddawan — 'Mali', Handmade Ornamental Bag, 2025

Named after Laddawan’s mother, Mali is a handmade ornamental bag. Born in Thailand in the 1960s, her mum Mali and uncle Kim lived in Bangkok on the edge of a banana plantation. On a trip to Thailand in 2024, the artist learned about the use of banana seeds in beading, and how to make traditional mulberry paper, as ways of connecting to her mother and learning something of the material and spiritual context of her upbringing. In this work, the bag symbolises an object that both carries and is carried from one place to another; a vessel that contains histories and futures. Similarly, the banana seeds are naturally unfixed travelling entities that themselves contain living stories. This work draws connections between the carrier bag, migration routes, and the stories that are contained within organic materials.