This piece was made in response to the 62 Group 2026 exhibition theme, Touchlines.

Love Languages is my metaphorical interpretation of the theme. I’d been thinking about the aprons my mum wears as conduits of her love and care.

Each time my parents return from Hong Kong, they bring fresh lotus root so they can make my favourite lotus root soup. It always feels like a silent and gentle way of them saying, I’ve missed you.

As my parents grow older, and as their journeys to Hong Kong become longer and more frequent, I find myself wondering how many more times they will return with lotus root. The soup has become, for me, a kind of touchline — a boundary between presence and absence.

Some thoughts I had while stitching…

• This piece is about the way my parents show their care and their love — the ritual of buying lotus root, bringing it back from Hong Kong, and making the soup.

• It’s also about legacy: my way of holding onto the memory of them, and leaving something for the next generation.

• The work is made through small, simple, straight stitches, repeated over and over, using the most basic materials — black cotton thread and a needle. To me, these stitches speak to the small acts of kindness and care that often go unnoticed. The repetitive motion of the needle going up and down feels like the ritualistic ways my parents express love

• My choice of materials was shaped by who they are. They’ve always made do with what they have, rarely buying new things unless absolutely necessary.

• While taking apart my dad’s jeans, I found a £5 note wedged deep inside a pocket. Sometimes, it really does pay to use found materials.

• I spent 102 hours stitching the recipe.

• The recipe itself isn’t fully complete — the last character remains unfinished. Finishing it felt too final, too conclusive. I may complete it one day, perhaps when there is no more lotus root soup.