For the 2022 cycle of W.A.R.P., we invited submissions from artists interested in working with our studio scrap: thrums (the lengths of thread left on the loom at the end of a weaving), fabric scraps and offcuts, the contents of our paper recycling bin, the proto-fluff produced by our then-somewhat-provisional People-Powered Fiber Shredder. It was our great pleasure to welcome Xingyi Zhao as our 2022 resident, whose description of her practice resonated strongly with us at TWM: “My process usually begins with my ever-growing archive of found objects and waste materials: salvaged yarn scraps, cardboards of all shapes, a piece of wrinkled receipt paper, used butter wrapper; these all give me tremendous joy. I give my work a sense of playfulness, but play is a serious matter.” Play as serious matter? We couldn’t agree more…
XINGYI ZHAO / JULY 2022
Xingyi Zhao is a Chinese-born artist based in Chicago. She creates prints and handwoven textiles that investigate our relationship with domestic space and everyday objects. By taking daily life as subject matter while commenting on the everyday aesthetic of the 21st century, her work deals with memory, privacy, and a sense of forced optimism with a subtle minimalistic approach. She received her BFA (2021) from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a recipient of Chicago Artist Coalition SPARK Grant (2022) and Spudnik Press Cooperative Fellowship (2022).
“I consider myself a scavenger, and I call waste ‘found materials,’ especially everyday objects that do not receive specific attention and are overlooked. Imagine how fantastic it would be for an artist to have access to boxes of all things, a list of all possible materials from which to pick the ideal ingredient for their work. This is not the case for me - I enjoy finding freedom in the limitation of materials.
There are three reasons why waste materials are essential to my practice. Firstly, it is convenient. Found materials are more accessible, and their lack of hierarchy make them easier to use. Secondly, they can act the role of being symbolizations and can be included in works to send specific messages. And lastly, these materials are full of surprises, which requires the artist to take it as a game of opportunity and use whatever comes by chance to create something valuable.”
WORKSHOPS WITH ENVISION UNLIMITED
During her residency at TWM, Xingyi led a series of papermaking and weaving workshops with Envision members, building on the idea of paper/textile as a vaccum: “By making papers with scraps/waste/objects of remembrance/anything participants wish to bring to be embedded in between. I want to explore the possibilities of how textiles can be translated onto paper and to find the deepest connections between paper and fabrics, pulp and yarn; to see how the discarded can transform into the valuable and framed by the handmade paper. The goal is to imagine paper as a vacuum, collecting all the waste while playing with color, shape, and texture.”
Using recycled paper as the base for paper pulp and experimenting with embossed & embedded odds & ends sourced from around the mill, Xingyi’s paper workshops yielded a collection of recycled-paper-quilts and postcard-sized tactile drawings. On the floorloom, Xingyi worked with Envision members to weave scrap yarns and paper into a textile record of the summer.
STUDIO
While in residence at TWM, Xingyi worked between the floor loom, the frame loom and the knitting machine to create a series of textiles that sought pattern, balance and dimension in found materials.