Ziqian Xiu

It's All about Love / 但愿人长久

1． Traditional Chinese family is –

My research starts with an analysis of the traditional Chinese family, where the relationships between immediate family members are very close. Children are raised by their parents and grandparents together, and adult siblings are expected to support their parents together in their later years. Raising young children and supporting elderly parents is the most common family pattern in China. Deeply influenced by such family values, I took on the responsibility and duty of caring for my parents after the death of my grandparents.

2. Find Home Connections –

Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion. I started recording small details of those "family days" through photography. At family dinners, we use round objects, such as a round table with a round passing turntable, round bowls, round plates, round-mouthed cups, round dish presentation, and the dishes are passed around the table in a circle. The combination and composition of these circles visually expresses the emotional connection between family members.

3. About Prints –

In my second semester I was lucky to celebrate the Chinese New Year in China with my family. When I cleaned up every corner of my home, as is customary, I happened to find some fabrics left behind by my grandmother. These fabrics are a vivid reflection of the dressing habits of my grandparents: Darker colours were often found in grandpa's clothes, while grandma preferred silk dresses with prints.

Rather than cut the original fabrics, I scanned some of the prints that best reflected my grandmother’s dress style and rearranged them to create two new prints. I also used old photographs that I found at home, most of which are of my family and me as a young child.

My final project is inspired by my family, or perhaps more appropriately, my family has been a constant source of inspiration and support throughout my eight years of design practice. My family went through a difficult time in 2021, when three of my grandparents passed away in the same year, and my paternal grandmother and maternal grandfather left us in less than two days. The loss of grandparents made me rethink the position of family in my heart and the importance of companionship.

Introduction of Traditional Chinese Family – Children are raised by their parents and grandparents together, and adult siblings are expected to support their parents together in their later years. Raising young children and supporting elderly parents is the most common family pattern in China.

Memories of Family Fabrics – In my second semester I was lucky to celebrate the Chinese New Year in China with my family. When I cleaned up every corner of my home, as is customary, I happened to find some fabrics left behind by my grandmother. These fabrics are a vivid reflection of the dressing habits of my grandparents: Darker colours were often found in grandpa's clothes, while grandma preferred silk dresses with prints.

Family Dinners – Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion. I started recording small details of those "family days" through photography.

Round Objects – At family dinners, we use round objects, such as a round table with a round passing turntable, round bowls, round plates, round-mouthed cups, round dish presentation, and the dishes are passed around the table in a circle.

2. Find Home Connections – , media item 3

Moving Tracks - Connections – The combination and composition of these circles visually expresses the emotional connection between family members.

2. Find Home Connections – , media item 5

2. Find Home Connections – , media item 6

2. Find Home Connections – , media item 7

Red Jacquard Sofa – The red jacquard sofa in our family of three was the most impressive piece of furniture in my childhood. This is a picture of my grandparents holding me and my cousin when I was two. The jacquard pattern has become illegible with age, so I found similar graphic elements, pieced them together to imitate the pattern, and digitally printed it on the fabric mentioned above.

Jacquard Curtains with Plant Patterns – Jacquard curtains with plant patterns were very popular in the 1990s. The pattern is the same colour as the fabric itself, but when used as a backdrop against the figures in a photograph, it creates a hazy and warm atmosphere. I abstracted the petunia pattern and re-drew the print. I kept the print and the base in the same colour, but changed the colours to blue-grey, green-grey and purple-grey –which I picked up from the original photos.

Old Furnitures – The old furniture is also an indelible part of my childhood memories. From 1990 to 2000, wooden furniture with glossy coating was all the rage. The mahogany furniture, with thick and heavy texture, had all its edges rounded and the corners carved. I extracted the decorative details, deconstructed the furniture forms, and reconstructed them using the collage technique to create more rounded and overlapping prints. Mahogany furniture is as simple and unpretentious as the older generation.

Remembrances of Working with Grandma (2021), media item 1

Ziqian’s work focusses on how to help her grandmother live more independently after suffering from multiple strokes and living with the conditions following and resulting from these diseases. The strokes mean that the left-hand side of her grandmother’s body cannot move as usual. She has to rely on help from family members for many day-to-day activities, particularly dressing herself.

Ziqian values helping vulnerable groups, especially those her family members belong to. One of the ways she tries to help them is through creating garments. She has made garments suitable for one-handed dressing and removing. Some of the elements she incorporated into the garments include different opening ways, positions and tools to reduce the difficulties in the dressing process. These pieces have aided her family members when dressing her grandma.

Ziqian Xiu

It's All about Love / 但愿人长久

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Royal College of Art