Hu Yinping’s artistic practice invites us to reconsider the prevailing social and artistic value systems, and to discover new possibilities for the existing relationship between labor and life within a whimsical world made of wool. Her conceptual project “Hu Xiaofang” serves as both an “artistic brand” and a social experiment to interrogate the inherent logics of production and trade within our economic systems and society. Launched in 2015, the project initially sought to create a more meaningful and autonomous environment for older women in rural villages. Over time, it unexpectedly provided a platform for these women—who have dedicated their lives to their family and have little connection to art—to express their subconscious selves. Hu Yinping began by commissioning knitted or crocheted items from women living in her hometown in Sichuan province. Rather than creating an art project, she had originally merely intended to bestow what she considered proper value for the time of these women, including her own mother, who have been undervalued in life and, more recently, exploited by online markets and export systems acquiring their work at minimal cost. Through the anonymous platform of the “Xiaofang” company, Hu Yinping discreetly provides a form of economic support for the women’s creative labor. Offering an unexpected, subversive perspective, her work compels viewers to reassess the value of “women’s craft” and “women’s time.”

Marking a decade of this tremendous project, this exhibition draws inspiration from reflections on the future, featuring a series of immersive mixed-media works created by the Xiaofang community commissioned by UCCA. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Holly Roussell.

About the Artist

Hu Yinping (b. 1983, Sichuan province; lives and works in Beijing) completed her MFA at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2010. Her solo exhibitions include “Hu Yinping: Weaving Realities” (Ming Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai, 2022); “Snowy White Dove” (Arrow Factory Space, Beijing, 2018); “Tourist” (IAER, Venice, 2017); “Xiaofang” (Arrow Factory Space, Beijing, 2016); and “Thank you” (Space 3, Chengdu, 2016). Her work has been featured in major group exhibitions at galleries and institutions around the world, including “The Story of a Merchant” (kurimanzutto, Mexico City, 2023); “SIGG: Chinese Contemporary Art from the Sigg Collection” (SONGEUN Art Space, Seoul, 2023); “Nián Nián: The Power and Agency of Animal Forms” (Deji Art Museum, Nanjing, 2023); “Incredible Action” (A4 Art Museum, Chengdu, 2022); “Stepping Out!” (Stiftelsen Lillehammer Museum, Norway; Museum der Moderne Salzburg, Austria; Gammel Strand, Copenhagen, 2022); “The Endless Garment” (X

Museum, Beijing, 2021); “Body Vision” (Cloud Art Museum, Shenzhen, 2021); “Curtain” (Para Site, Hong Kong, 2021); “Airport Biennale” (Guangzhou, 2019); “Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art” (Zhejiang Art Museum, Hangzhou, 2019); and “Sweet Home” (Power Station of Art, Shanghai, 2017).