Anomaly Shanghai has presented “Woven Wonders: From Urumqi to Wulumuqi Road,” a group exhibition at Anomaly OPEN Space, featuring contemporary carpets designed by five artists. This exhibition demonstrates how traditional crafts can inspire new imaginations in modern life.
Anomaly OPEN is a cultural platform established by Anomaly Shanghai that hosts talks, events, and exhibitions to support the broader creative community. Notable past exhibitions have featured typography designer Ying Yonghui, artist Nathan Zhou, photographer Rich Shuie, and Magazine B, as well as, more recently, illustrator ASIR, Momoshou, designer Li Dan, and photographer Lin Shan.
Carpets have long served as cultural carriers within families and communities. Traditional designs, with their intricate and radiant patterns, captivate the eye, asserting their presence at the center of a space and providing a platform for social activities. Xinjiang has a rich tradition of handmade wool carpets. Since 2022, the Urumqi-based startup Biye Carpet has initiated an ongoing project inviting contemporary artists from across the country to revitalize the visual language of carpets with their cutting-edge designs. In doing so, these artists transform this ancient craft into a medium for modern ideas and mysterious codes. Advancing their journey from native Urumqi to Shanghai’s lifestyle hub, Wulumuqi Road, the artist carpets now take their stage of contemporary urban life for a novelty-seeking young generation.
Cheng Ran is one of the first artists to embark on the collaboration. Drawing inspiration from traditional wave and pomegranate patterns, he reinterprets them as techno music soundwaves and youth culture icons. His creation, titled “The Silk Road” (2022), is stripped of color to convey a sense of emotional detachment and modern gothic aesthetics.
Karamay-born artist Liu Xin has embedded her most personal code into her carpet. “When We Were All Flowers” (2022) incorporates 27,047 sets of her own DNA data with 129,600 hand-tied knots. A series of Etles colors, a distinct palette from Xinjiang, is used to represent the genetic sequences AaCcGgTt, making it truly a carpet of life.
Other artists have chosen to breathe new life into lost legends. Xu Maomao and Zhang Na’s carpets draw inspiration from the lands of Gostana and Yarkent, respectively, using abstract ornaments to celebrate the power of the land and the gifts of nature. Nabuqi takes this concept further, constructing a purely speculative civilization based on impressions passed down through generations of Xinjiang carpet designs. Romantic with a touch of somberness, “Stone and Sky” (2023) connects reality to the transcendence of imagination.
The exhibition is enhanced by a shimmering, texture-rich display designed by Anomaly. Complementing the carpets’ wool surfaces and channeling a blissful dazzle, the setup features an iridescent tassel matrix and velvet curtains, orchestrating a visual feast that offers dynamic vibes in daylight and when lit up at night. Taking full advantage of Anomaly OPEN Space’s generous window display along Shanghai’s South Wulumuqi Road, the exhibition celebrates color, ideas, and community for everyone to enjoy. The exhibition is on display from August 23, 2024 through November, 2024.
Details
Exhibition Duration: August 23 to November, 2024
Address: Anomaly OPEN Space, 205 South Wulumuqi Road, Xuhui, Shanghai
Open Daily: Free Admission
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