{"id":4499,"date":"2026-02-12T08:32:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4499"},"modified":"2026-02-12T08:32:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T15:32:54","slug":"ethereal-kites-by-hai-wen-lin-transform-into-elegant-garments-and-sculptures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=4499","title":{"rendered":"Ethereal Kites by Hai-Wen Lin Transform into Elegant Garments and Sculptures"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ethereal<\/p>\n

In works that merge sculpture, fashion, and kite-making, Hai-Wen Lin<\/a> traverses the thresholds that connect one\u2019s physical self, the mind, and the elements. The artist describes their practice as \u201can act of reorienting: looking back, looking forward, looking in, looking up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using a wide range of materials, Lin creates vibrant, abstract compositions in textile often manipulated with cyanotype patterns or dyed with natural hues such as indigo and turmeric. They make kites \u201cthat speak the language of clothing,\u201d blurring definitions of craft, art, garments, and acts of play.<\/p>\n

\"A
\u201cOctober 8th 2:56-3:56pm Wicker Park; a picnic together \/\/ we probably shouldn\u2019t feed the sparrows\u201d (2022), tannic acid-toned cyanotype on muslin, acrylic, soda ash, bamboo, thread, gold chain, wind, green grass, time to kill, hungry sparrows, turbos flamas, a loved one to keep company, conversations that needn\u2019t arrive anywhere, 63 x 63 x 5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lin has long been interested in chance operations, documentation of daily life, and ways of releasing control. They artist\u00a0first learned to sew as a way to explore and navigate questions of gender.\u00a0During graduate school, they landed on the concept of a kite as a way of loosening up in terms of research and getting out into the open\u2014literally embracing the wind. They were thus inspired by a stirring question: \u201cWhat does it mean to care for, drape, dress, and accommodate change and instability?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lin\u2019s pieces employ an array of materials and processes, such as discarded paintings, a variety of fabrics, jewelry findings, and more. \u201cTwo Can Share Heaven,\u201d for example, incorporates dyed cotton, faux fur, polyester, velvet, and silk\u2014the latter of which harkens to historical fashion.<\/p>\n

The artist also occasionally includes experiential, ephemeral additions in the works\u2019 materials lists,\u00a0such as \u201ca burning sensation, a desire to be lost\u201d in a piece titled \u201cSunday, April 2nd 5:13\u20137:31pm,\u201d among others, and titles sometimes reflect the dates and times when the kites were worn as garments.<\/p>\n

\"Artist
\u201cSunday, April 2nd 5:13\u20137:31pm\u201d (2023), cyanotype on silk and cotton, developed in lakewater, steeped in black tea, feathers, beads, thread, bells, wood, gold, enamel, crystals, copper, brass, ceramic, dirt, flowers, sunlight, sweat, sand, rust, dust, a shivering body, a burning sensation, a desire to be lost, 90. 96 x 12 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lin is fascinated by the tradition of Japanese paper sode dako<\/a>,<\/em> or \u201ckimono kites,\u201d which resemble the silhouette of the timeless robes. \u201cIt\u2019s very simple, but the idea of the body in flight, is of course a powerful image,\u201d Lin says, adding:<\/p>\n

\n

When I was young, my dad would have us write wishes on pieces of paper and send them up the kite lines when we flew them. If they disappeared when you reeled the kite back in,\u00a0it meant\u00a0the wish had been granted. So the kites have always been about a sense of wish-making. I think clothing offers a similar sense of aspiration for a lot of people.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lin\u2019s kites can just as easily be described as textile sculptures or apparel. They drape beautifully in exhibition spaces like abstract tapestries, severed from their free-flying, outdoor associations. They wrap around the human form like elegant, ethereal, shapeshifting mantles.<\/p>\n

\"Two
\u201cTwo Can Share Heaven\u201d (2024), turmeric and indigo-dyed cotton, donated fabrics, discarded paintings, faux fur, silk, velvet, polyester, jewelry chain, split rings, thread, cord, wood, 110 x 80 inches. Models: the artist and Margaret Wright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat continues to interest me in this dialogue is the ways in which clothing and weather have always been in conversation,\u201d Lin says, continuing:<\/p>\n

\n

Clothing is an interface that delineates our bodies from the environment, so I\u2019m interested in reversing and reorienting that relationship. What would it mean to clothe the weather instead? I often refer to my works as clothing for the wind. I think of dress and clothing as a form of care. I love that we forecast weather and that we forecast fashion. It\u2019s all a kind of attempt at discerning some kind of future. How do we care for a future sky with the clothes we make and wear now?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Loosely modeled after Chinese dragon robes<\/a>, which were popularized among emperors and dynastic officials during the Tang Dynasty, \u201cTwo Can Share Heaven\u201d explores notions of togetherness and cooperation. Unlike traditional garments, the artist designed the piece to be worn by two people as \u201ca simple but direct challenge to the notion of a single ruler blessed by gods,\u201d they share. \u201cHere, power must be shared, redistributed, and negotiated between two.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Museum of Arts and Design<\/a> (MAD) has awarded Lin the 2025 Burke Prize, a prestigious grant given to an artist under the age of 45 working in the U.S. whose practice revolves around contemporary craft. If you\u2019re in New York, see Lin\u2019s work at MAD from February 28 to October 11. The artist is also currently working toward a solo exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Follow updates on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A
\u201cOctober 3rd 6:58-7:56am Oak Street Beach, I woke you up in the morning \/\/ I\u2019m sorry\u201d (2022), tannic acid-toned cyanotype on muslin, acrylic, bamboo, thread, gold chain, brass, ceramic, wind, time, sand, the first light of the day, a lapping lake, the sound of traffic, a breath expanding the solar plexus, and another, and another,\u00a063 x 58 x 5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Artist
The artist wearing \u201cOctober 3rd 6:58-7:56am Oak Street Beach, I woke you up in the morning \/\/ I\u2019m sorry\u201d and \u201cOctober 8th 2:56-3:56pm Wicker Park; a picnic together \/\/ we probably shouldn\u2019t feed the sparrows\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
\u201cCloud Collar\u201d (2023), dyed silk, feathers, gold, beads, wood, string, hair extensions, one wish, 99 x 140 x 18 inches. Photo by Prairie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cCloud Collar\u201d (2023), dyed silk, feathers, gold, beads, wood, string, hair extensions, one wish, 99 x 140 x 18 inches. Modeled by taisha paggett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Detail of \u201cCloud Collar\u201d (2023). Photo by Prairie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
\u201cSunday, April 2nd 5:13\u20137:31pm\u201d (2023), cyanotype on silk and cotton, developed in lakewater, steeped in black tea, feathers, beads, thread, bells, wood, gold, enamel, crystals, copper, brass, ceramic, dirt, flowers, sunlight, sweat, sand, rust, dust, a shivering body, a burning sensation, a desire to be lost, 90 x 96 x 12 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
\u201cwishwinder\u201d (2022), enamel on copper, copper leaf, wood, and chain, 4 x 6.5 x .5 inches<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Ethereal Kites by Hai-Wen Lin Transform into Elegant Garments and Sculptures<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In works that merge sculpture, fashion, and kite-making, Hai-Wen Lin traverses the thresholds that connect one\u2019s physical self, the mind, and the elements. The artist describes their practice as \u201can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4499\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}