London

Ngai Lee & Merry Ng

Merry Antbroidery

Embroiderer | London, United Kingdom

Miniature marvels made by two

Ngai and Merry make contemporary embroidery pieces inspired by movies,
Their embroidery is mostly made using the long and short stitch,
The duo spins thread from recycled plastic bottles,

Ngai Lee and Merry Ng push the boundaries of embroidery to create unique contemporary pieces, often on a miniature scale. In 2018, the duo established their studio Merry Antbroidery, where they are constantly exploring new materials such as recycling plastic for threads. "Every idea is a joint idea. Every scene choice and thread colour choice is made by both of us. For example, if Ngai does the lion's share of the stitching, I work out the framing and engineering for the dynamic movement of the piece," Merry explains. "I am a self-taught embroider. I think I was influenced by my father’s hobby of making and painting miniature war figures," says Ngai. After studying fashion design in Hong Kong, she worked in the film industry’s costume department while refining her stitching skills in the peaceful solitude of her free time. Ngai and Merry now practise their craft in the UK, where they moved in 2022.

Interview

What inspires you?: Our inspiration started with animation characters. Most of our work is based on movies, originally from the Hong Kong film industry. Today, our pieces are also influenced by Hollywood movies such as Pulp Fiction and The Truman Show. We also admire the works of Wes Anderson.
How does your creative process unfold?: We watch a movie then we choose our favourite scenes. After debating which scene has the best imagery to recreate, we take the final decision based on colours. Then, we decide if the piece will be 2D or 3D. We draft an image on fabric and then start stitching. The best time to sew is around midnight, and each piece takes around 2 to 4 weeks to complete.
What is your relationship with colour?: It is really hard to pick the right colours. For instance, to make a blue sky, we do not use one single blue thread. We can use up to 40 different shades to get the effect we want. We have every colour in the DMC range of mouliné threads – that is over 500 colours.
Are your works contemporary or traditional?: What we do is definitely not traditional embroidery. We use multimedia to create our work, including recycled plastic threads we make ourselves. Our subject matter is contemporary – we try to step outside the box.

Ngai Lee & Merry Ng are rising stars: they began their career in 2018