Interweaving identity: an exploratory investigation of the relationship between fibre art and the social position of women in China from 2010 to the present
Zhang, Yuanlu (2025) Interweaving identity: an exploratory investigation of the relationship between fibre art and the social position of women in China from 2010 to the present. PhD thesis, University for the Creative Arts.
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This research investigates the relationship between female identity and contemporary fibre art in China from 2010 to the present. It explores the impact of the wider social, economic and political environment on female gender, identity and status and how this is reflected by Chinese female fibre artists and contemporary fibre art in China. It examines how the work of Chinese female fibre artists can be understood through Butler’s theory of gender performativity. This practice-based research then builds on personal contexts and experiences to explore the nature of Chinese female identity and contemporary Chinese fibre art more broadly, through textile practice. It addresses the following research questions:
• To what extent is the work of Chinese female fibre artists concerned with the performance of gender?
• What specific experiences concerning the performance of gender — educational, personal and social — do Chinese female fibre artists interrogate in their work and how do they do this?
• How can I, as a female artist, build on these foundations to further explore gender performativity in fibre art?
The research adopts a qualitative and creative research methodology, with literature reviews, case studies, and practice research as the research methods. The literature surveyed covers contemporary Chinese fibre art, with a focus on the most important exhibitions of Chinese fibre art. I have adopted six representative Chinese female fibre artists from different generations as case studies to explore the identity and potential meaning of Chinese female fibre artists' artworks. These artists are Wu Fan, Liang Kai, Xu Jia, Zhang Yifan, Wang Yangzi and Yue Mingyue, and interviewing them and examining their art practice allows this study to uncover their different interpretations and three visualisations of gender performativity in contemporary fibre art in China. My own practice takes the form of fibre artworks and workshops that revolve around the kitchen and the connection between my grandmother, my mother and me, exploring how Chinese women balance the family, society and the individual. These works explore gender performativity through repeated
performances and personal values, what Butler calls ‘sustained acts’.
Thesis submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master of Philosophy, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham.
Supervisors: Dr Susan Ryland, Dr Peipei Yu and Professor Victoria Kelley.
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