The Ghost and the Hide-and-Seek
This project grew out of questioning Chinese women’s preference for loose-fitting, non-revealing clothing. It explores how to redefine sensuality from my Chinese heritage and perspective: it’s a story being told firstly by creating space between clothes and body, and then by making it visible – in secret ways, in multiple senses. This ambition is fulfilled by way of special printing techniques and draping methods, that suggest an alternative way of revealing.
Stimulated by the moments when body shape is hidden in baggy clothing, intangibly revealed by spontaneous drapes, light and shadow. The printing mechanism in this body of work is for hazily suggesting one’s body’s profile. I love the effect that the shape of the body merged into the creases and drapes of baggy clothes, visualizing the ghostly space between clothes and body caused by loose-fit cuttings.
The printing technique allows the ambiguous body profile to be fused in with the imprints of drapes, stitching lines and internal structures of clothes. These details of clothes obscure the body shapes, articulating the space in-between. The outline of the invisible ghost has thus been captured.
Traditional East Asian costumes seem to wrap the whole body without exposing much skin. But there have been many unobtrusive garment structures that reveal the skin or undergarments in a secret way. I’m always fascinated by these hidden surprises and intrigued by the tension and contrast between the overall concealing and the secret revealing. In this project, I’d like to reveal wearer’s body in a secret and serendipitous way by emphasizing the flat terrain of cloth, the looping and wrapping of the garment, and the integrity of the untailored textile. Recontextualize ancient Chinese cutting methods and conventional dress into modern womenswear.
Ancient Chinese carry things in their baggy garments. You can see a person take out a book, or some snacks from their sleeve and lapel. I collected several beautiful fresh foods and transformed them into different kinds of accessories by using 3d-scaning and printing, these fragile and beautiful substances are somehow like our body, the symbolism of fragility draw attention to the voluminous space inside the loose-fit cutting. The interpretation of beauty in Chinese culture is more about concealment than direct presentation. A loose-fit cutting gives this hide-and-seek adequate space to play out. The food-like jewelleries are hidden and revealing serendipitously. This too celebrates the beauty hidden in the in-between.