Instructions for using the AR to find the Hidden Messages in the story cloth:
- Download the Zappar app on your mobile device.
- Navigate to the story cloth on a computer and download the story cloth PDF.
- Point the Zappar app at the zapcode on the story cloth or use the direct link to the AR experience on your mobile device here.
Hmong Story Cloth or paj ntaub is a traditional art form that Hmong women made when they were in Thailand. It is a hand-sewn textile art made from cotton fabric. The reasons behind the story cloth were to tell their struggles that they went through during the Secret War - a war before the Vietnam War happened. The war was about Communism wanting to conquer the country of Laos. The CIA was involved and recruited many Hmong men to fight against communism. Many Hmong families were miserably affected by it and are seeking to find peace.
Hmong Story Cloth inspired me to explore my ethnicity and history. In the digital Hmong Story Cloth, the original concept is the same, but one piece of information that I added was the story of the Hmong language because it plays a significant role. Also, I incorporated AR in it to reveal the Hmong and English texts. The purpose of the text is to know information about the story cloth. This would allow Hmong-American children to not only know about the Secret War, but how it impacted our ability to speak, write and read in Hmong. We should not blame Hmong-American children for not being able to know their own native language, but instead be proud of them for working hard simultaneously in their education and knowledge of their history.
My intention was to print the digital story cloth on fabric, but COVID-19 stopped me from doing that. Originally, the texts were on the digital story cloth, but I removed that. So, AR was an alternative addition to the project because I believe that it would encourage the audience to interact and read the text on their phone instead of reading on the digital story cloth. It also allows me to keep the traditional appearance of the story cloth. Just like Albert Einstein said, “One picture is worth a thousand words.” The digital story cloth is only one picture but it has a meaningful story behind it with a thousand words about the Hmong.
