Determined to prevent the traditional weaving skills of her homeland from being lost forever, Jennifer P Linggi spent many years visiting the kampungs of Sabah, staying with the elderly craftsmen and women in an effort to better understand the many stages of basket-making and the lifestyles of the artisans who create them. While studying the lifestyles of the various communities, she also learned about the extent to which their handicrafts reflect their everyday preoccupations and collective values. Her book, The Kampung Legacy – A Journal of Sabah’s Traditional Baskets is an illustrated documentation of the amazing artistry that has been practised in the kampungs for centuries, and aims to document, and in some way preserve these cultural practices which are in danger of disappearing. She joins us to share more.

You can catch the exhibition Bakul: Everyday Baskets from Sabah which features a collection of Jennifer’s baskets at The Godown, until the 23rd of February 2023. Listen to the interview about the exhibition with Lim Wan Yee and Emily Wee (co-founders of The Godown) and Ling Hao (architect and the curator of the exhibition) here.

Image Credit: Jennifer P Linggi