London College of Fashion fosters artistic expression where our students use their work to communicate different points of view, which ranges from political to self-exploration. Qing Yang, a graduate of our first cohort of MA Fashion Textiles Technology, has used interactive mixed textile installations to process and express complex emotions related to an event from her past.
In the countryside of Beijing in 2022, an art studio used by college students was illegally demolished. In the aftermath of that incident, the students tried protesting and expressing their dissent online. But in the end the students faced disappointment as nothing changed. The unfairness of the incident stayed with Qing and when she came to London College of Fashion to pursue her MA, she decided to channel her feelings into her project.
“I wanted to become a textile artist through this course, and I always wanted to do something like this project so it was good timing. I had a year to do the things I wanted and our professors give us a lot of freedom.”
Qing developed mixed textile installations to recreate the demolition and present an environment of the ruins. The installations include suspended textiles, interactive textiles integrated with cement and a documentary film that takes you through the entire journey. She used the scale of the installation to shout out her feelings and her frustrations with all that transpired. Through the project, she hopes to extend solidarity to anyone who has experienced something similar.
“Through my textiles, you can see the demolished building, you can feel my sadness, my anxiety and you can feel my peace. My whole story is in these textiles and maybe it can remind people of something unfair in their lives and help them face it.”
Qing doesn’t want to be seen as a radical artist. She sees her work as a medium to express what happened to her and not as something that will bring immediate change. Concealment is a big part of her project. She has weaved her messages into the fabric and hidden them inside the cement. You will have to look for them carefully, smash the cement to find what’s underneath.
“I’m not here to stir up anything. I just want to tell my story and maybe the audience will have a different view of this artwork and that’s okay.”
It is also a part of her identity and where she comes from there isn’t a privilege to say things explicitly. The documentary film is the only part of the project that explains everything clearly, but she doesn’t plan to carry it everywhere she exhibits in the future. Qing has a very clear idea of the extent to which she will go for dissent and she hopes others also prioritise themselves over their cause.
“I feel we should only do the things we can do while leading a normal life. Some of my friends care deeply about the political things in China and that is a very hard thing to do in China. They are anxious all the time and forget to care about their own life, their friends and family, so I think we should lead normal lives, care about ourselves and do the things that we can do and that is enough. Don't burn ourselves out because everything is not under our control.”
You can find Qing's work and The Collapsed Past documentary on UAL Showcase.