Yixin Abi Li found herself grappling with a sense of uncertainty. The immediacy and fixed nature of the images in painting and photography she was focusing before starting at School of the Art Institute of Chicago left her feeling disconnected. It was this struggle that ultimately led her to the structured yet boundless world of weaving. She started to craft soft woven bodies into tactile poetry, creating magic through the natural “wills” of materials. Yixin also uses image-making as a tool to express her commentary on the absurdities and surprises to be found in the real world, a process of “flirting with reality”, in her words.

Yixin Abi Li explores the intersection of weaving and sound. Her sound works incorporate field recordings and ambient sounds, creating immersive auditory experiences that build memories. She draws parallels between the layering, adjusting, and sequencing of sound and the process of weaving. One of her projects Loom Live involved using a floor loom as a recording device, with different yarn colors and tones representing sound volumes and distances. This innovative approach highlights the symbiotic relationship between weaving and sound, demonstrating the versatility and depth of her artistic practice.

images by PILOTENKUECHE or supplied by artist

Wovens murmuring memories

Yixin Li’s works are deeply rooted in memory and nostalgia, often teasing the reality she inhabits. She believes in animism, the idea that every existence has a spirit. Yixin Li sees her role as linking these spirits together, allowing them to interact and coexist within her woven pieces. This philosophy is evident in her assemblages of small objects and scraps, which she arranges and scans to create diaristic artworks. These pieces, often inspired by personal experiences, resonate with a profound sense of memory and emotional insight.

“I’ve been always moving, from one place to another. Textiles and yarns are very flexible in size, they can extend in space but also you can pack them into a suitcase. They are humble but also have a strong sense of presence at the same time.”

Words with spiritual fabric

Now on her residency in Leipzig at PILOTENKUECHE; Yixin Abi Li continues to work with fibres. She considers her soft sculptures  “spiritual drag”. Adding parts of wigs and crystals to make them glam, they are about untangling the chaos into woven structures. Yixin Li believes that beauty is a form of resistance.

Additionally she is fascinated by the small details within graffiti she sees around town. Finding in them a spiritual value, she focuses on the transformations that the words undergo during their time on the wall, such as being crossed out for political reasons or new words being added. She argues that the gestures offered by these transformations of words through various signs contain violence, and plans to reconstruct the stories of these words on the loom.

written by Aybüke Sanuç

Fleshy Gesture : Texture

Vernissage Sat 31 Aug 7-10 PM
Open Sun 1  – Wed 4 Sept  4-8 PM

Alte Handelsschule
Giesserstr 75
04229 Leipzig

Abandoned New Position

Vernissage Sat 21 Sept 7-10 PM
Sun 22  – Wed 25 Sept 4-8 PM

PILOTENKUECHE
Franz-Flemming-Str 9
04179 Leipzig