'Folded Cleaning Cloths'

Meliantha Muliawan attempts to define the limits of reality and illusion through her depiction of domestic objects, which are often a focus in her practice. ‘Folded Cleaning Cloths’ looks to understand how domestic objects, in this case, the ubiquitous tea towel, are owned, used, and distributed in our environment. Muliawan is interested in the humility of everyday objects and how we are able to find beauty within them, and their worth or significance is formed by our own perception and values. 

Muliawans questions the tea towel as a commodity – its value is often lesser than the value of the object being cleaned. She questions its appearance: is it important to know why the tea towel features striped or checkered motifs? And its significance: what are the commonalities or differences between various tea towels around the world, how are they represented? Our relative indifference towards these questions is not in line with our use of the tea towel, which is in comparison, exploitative.