Yingran Xu

Embroidery——From Ha Ni to Aqkaq

The story begins with my valuing of my ethnic identity. When I deeply realized that I am Ha Ni, I tried to discover everything about my ethnicity and culture from this complex world. Throughout the research process of this project, I went through the journey of finding that ethnic minorities are being marginalized. Therefore, my core direction is to explore the causes of this situation or to find a way to confront inappropriate expressions. Later on, through learning and making embroidery, I seem to be able to see more. I incorporated all of my experiences into traditional Ha Ni embroidery patterns and realistic photographs, representing how I understand my people, how I have conversations with my fellow Ha Ni, and examine our way of life and culture. Since the poster is a beginning, the book is the essence and ending of my project. I have integrated most of my thinking throughout the project into the book. The idea began to take shape when I was halfway through making the poster. At first, it was only used as a simple explanation of the poster and to provide context, but as the project progressed, the content of the book grew rapidly. I first incorporated a first-person narrative of my dialogue and feelings with the Akha in a plain way, then combined the embroidery with photos of the current situation of the Akha's life, so that they are no longer just an electronic file or a piece of paper, but should show more vitality. Finally, I also showed the process of embroidery in the book, making it a very comprehensive and thoughtful book that embodies the entire project.

“Through exploring my own ethnic minority culture and reflecting on the impact and influences of modern society on the life and cultural heritage of ethnic minorities, my work uses embroidery to interpret the intrinsic meaning of the culture. The patterns are used to express the theme and language of the embroidery, conveying the current marginalized status, contradictions, and difficulties of ethnic minorities, while also exploring and depicting the possibility of using ethnic characteristics and handicrafts for visual communication.Through this series of embroidered works, I hope to fully express the essence of this culture, using simple and profound design language to evoke emotions in the audience, and to spark reflection on the current social situation and ethnic issues.”