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Malaysian contemporary artist Red Hong Yi, known around the world for creating incredible artwork using unexpected materials like coffee stains, chopsticks, and flower petals, is back with something deeply personal
This time, she's turning humble buttons into intricate artworks that explore themes of home, memory, and belonging.
In a post on social media, Red, who hails from Sabah, shared that the series began with a simple reflection, "Buttons: they hold things together, secure our bodies, keep us warm and protected like little guardians on our clothes."
Working from her studio in Kuala Lumpur with her team and refugees from Dignity for Children Foundation, Red used buttons, red thread, and raw canvases to create intricate works that reconnect her to her family's roots in Shanghai
One of the standout works, 'Letterbox (家)', was displayed in a longtang (alleyway) along South Shanxi Road in Shanghai.
The Chinese character '家' (jia) means home, and is often seen on letterboxes shared by multiple families in old Shanghai houses.
Made from hundreds of buttons and sequins, the piece was lovingly stitched by hand and mounted in the alleyways where her grandparents once lived.
Another piece, 'Hot Water Flask (热水壶)', captures a comforting memory from Red's childhood
"My elderly relatives always kept a hot water flask nearby, a practical necessity that became a source of comfort in winter," she shared.
The artwork, made with thousands of buttons and stitched in her signature red thread, was displayed at the entrance of her grandaunt's home, near a fig tree planted by her late granduncle.
She also recreated a familiar household object in 'Pee Pot (尿壶)', inspired by her grandaunty's old porcelain pot
"These pots may just look like vintage vessels, but to me, they remind me of my elderly family members.
"They'd bring these pots into their bedrooms sometimes so they didn't have to walk up and down the steep staircases in the middle of the night," Red wrote.
Each piece in the series transforms everyday items into vessels of nostalgia, connecting generations and cultures through craft and memory
Red, who first gained global attention for her portraits made from food, candles, and other unconventional materials, has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and TIME magazine.
She said she brought seven of these button artworks to Shanghai and plans to continue the series from her studio in KL.
Through thousands of tiny stitches and buttons, Red reminds us that home isn't just a place.
It's a feeling held together by love, memory, and the little things we often take for granted.
