Based in Beijing, Yin Xiuzhen often uses secondhand clothing to explore how memory invested in the material presents a counterforce to the anonymity and homogenization of globalized culture. “I see clothing as a second skin,” she explains. “Once it’s been worn, it bears the traces of the wearer’s experiences.” In this installation, a barrage of weapons suspended in flight reveals itself on closer inspection to be an assortment of obscure objects made from secondhand clothes, worn fabric, and crocheted scraps. They are spindles of personal stories on a trajectory of escape, tracing individual journeys. Together they form an umbrella of collective experience that also encompasses the viewers who approach the battery. Their softness and inherent intimacy contrast with their designation as instruments of violence, and with the cold, hard surfaces of the surrounding military environment.
- Installation Views
Yin Xiuzhen, Weapon (view from outside Battery Boutelle), 2003–7; used clothes and materials from everyday life; courtesy the artist and Beijing Commune; © Yin Xiuzhen; photo: Robert Divers Herrick
A graduate of Capital Normal University in Beijing, Yin Xiuzhen creates alluring sculptures that investigate the notions of cultural identity and memory embedded in objects. She has exhibited her work internationally, including at the São Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, and Venice biennials. Her honors include the China Contemporary Art Award and the UNESCO/Aschberg Bursary for young artists.