In Waves and Dunes, Peter Chao draws on memories of two fishing towns–Keelung Peace Island, Taiwan, where he grew up, and Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, where he lives today.  

In a creative seaside community, he is motivated by nostalgia and his reverence for mother nature. He translates seascapes and sand dunes through the process of punch needle, a traditional rug hooking technique. This act of making, slowly by hand, brings comfort in a time of solitude. 

Using three different types of stitches in a monochromatic palette, he embroiders yarn freely onto monk’s cloth, creating multiple fields within each frame, resulting in organic, undulating topographies, never two the same. The combination of familiar materials and his intuitive technique helps him create pieces that connect personal history, geography, craft, and art.

This body of work invites you to contemplate the waves of endless embroidery stitches–each line leading to another, creating a calming and peaceful rhythm that evokes the patterns and motions of the natural world.