Woven Silences: Reimagining shèng nǚ (‘Leftover Women’) through poetic interfaces between image, text, and silk printing.

Qianying Li; Marcos Mortensen Steagall

doi:10.24135/link-praxis.v3i1.43

Qianying Li Auckland University of Technology
Marcos Mortensen Steagall (Translator) Auckland University of Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24135/link-praxis.v3i1.43

Keywords: Aspiration, 剩女 (the Leftover Woman), 诗中有画，画中有诗 (painting in the poetry, poetry in the painting), silk, the solo traveller

Abstract

Woven Silences: Reimagining shèng nǚ (‘Leftover Women’) through poetic interfaces between image, text, and silk printing constitutes a positive rethinking of the Chinese derogatory concept of 剩女 (the Leftover Woman). Leftover Women is used to define unmarried, urban, professional single women over the age of 27. In this study, the term is used to describe women who, forsaking conventional expectations of marriage, consciously make alternative choices about their future. The research draws on personal experience and existing literature relating to familial and cultural expectations that many young, contemporary Chinese women must navigate. The discursive relationship between poetry and painting is articulately captured in the Chinese term 诗中有画/画中有诗 ‘painting in poetry and poetry in painting’. 诗中有画 ‘painting in poetry’ refers to the pictorial vividness of a poetic work, and 画中有诗 ‘poetry in painting’, refers to the poetic and aesthetic content of a painting. Poetry and painting here refers to an ancient Chinese practice of combining literary and pictorial form in an intrinsic relationship. The study draws on this relationship to create contemporary design expressions of a social phenomenon. Using silk as a material substrate, the project explores the potentials of poetry, calligraphy, fabric design, illustration and printing to rethink existing conventions of gender expectation and culturally mandated marriage. Formatted on draped, silk ‘sheets’, seven poems created by the researcher update the Chinese principle of ‘painting in poetry and poetry in painting’ as contemporary visual communication design practice. The works are accompanied by a catalogue that provides translations of each poem (into English) and a brief explanation of each work.

Author Biographies

Qianying Li, Auckland University of Technology

Qianying is a graphic designer from China and currently living and studying in Aotearoa New Zealand. I completed bachelor’s and master’s degree at AUT, majoring in Communication Design. With a background in human-centred design, I’m interested in autoethnographic approaches in graphic design, and how the self can inform the creative process in the search for authenticity, and originality and to maintain the dignity of the story. I hope to use the communication design skills to contribute to both digital and physical communication design solutions.

Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Auckland University of Technology

Marcos Mortensen Steagall is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Design at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). In his research and professional pursuits, Dr. Mortensen Steagall explores the intersection of visual semiotics and practice-oriented methodologies in Art, Design, Communication, and Technology. His artistic practice, primarily centred on lens-based and digital image-making, serves as a method for knowledge production. Dr. Mortensen Steagall's work is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach that merges academic research with artistic practice, highlighting the significance of embracing diverse cultural narratives and knowledge systems in Design. Additionally, he is the editor of the academic journal LINK Praxis and chairs the LINK International Conference, focusing on Practice-led Research and the Global South.

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