Carpets are reminder of home's rich tapestry

Joey Xia, a Shanghai-based artist, has been using a variety of materials to create artistic installations that explore themes like the reshaping of power structures, the construction of identity, and reflections on cultural diversity within the context of globalization.

A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Xia maintains a sensitivity to different materials. "I value the cultural information contained in the materials themselves," he says.

In 2022, when the aforementioned carpets were being sold at a pop-up booth at Tank Shanghai gallery, Xia stopped by and expressed his interest in Hotan carpets and later, applied to participate in the project's second phase.

"It was my first time seeing the process of hand-weaving carpets. I was shocked by how much time a person would spend on repetitive actions. I believe that this dedication infuses the weaver's energy into the making, giving the carpets special vitality," Xia says.

His design is based on his childhood image of a flying carpet, with a trident-shaped symbol representing the carpet's "engine" and the words "Time and space are imagination" written in Uygur.

He has been considering ways of incorporating carpets into his installations and exhibitions.

"As household items for nomadic people, I suppose that the carpet conveys a sense of urgency to go further in a globalized context," Xia adds.