[Limited Handmade Collection] City Doll Series City Doll Series 2018-2023

The work records the "City Doll Series" created by artist Zeng Yanwei when he participated in the Art Residency and Biennale from 2018 to 2023. 20 representative pieces are selected from 140 dolls, and it is published in Chinese and English in limited edition. 30 copies. The dolls are inspired by the distinctive personalities of characters from various cultures; her own hand-wrapped technique creates the dramatic tension of the sculpted characters, and the doll materials are specially selected from local old clothes and scraps, in an attempt to discover the hidden meanings behind the used clothing fabrics. A local story. Through the people and things he saw, encountered, and heard during the exchange, the artist wrapped around the dolls one after another, wrapping up the local collective memory and personal memories of sojourn, and also recorded local tastes from old clothes and scraps. Due to the advancement of contemporary printing equipment, fabric printing can accept a wider range of cloth textures and improve printing clarity. The dolls come from old clothes and waste cloth, returning to the fabric itself again. In addition to printing on the cloth, hand-stitching and hand- kumihimo are also used to create a horizontal scroll collection, which becomes an "artist's book". When the collection is turned over, each doll gradually appears along with a map of the local area, just like using GPS to find places and locations during a journey. The people and things you meet or know at that time may be connected to the next person or thing, or It is the next journey, there is no certain order, it is all based on the subjective consciousness of the viewer, just like the artist's global textile art journey; finally, after the portfolio is completely opened, with the red stitching, all the dolls appear at the same time , whose story chapters are included in paper foldouts. Tseng Yen-Yu, a documentary work artist created “City Doll Series” during her art-in-residency and biennial exhibition from 2018 to 2023. Now she selects 20 remarkable works from her 140 dolls, and publishes 30 limited books in Mandarin and English . The figure dolls were inspired by the distinctive personality from the people all over the world. She shapes the dramatic tension of the figure via her hand-made wrapping technique, and collects the old cloth and waste textile from the local as the materials for the figure dolls. Tseng attempts to discover the local stories via the used cloth and fabric. Through the connection with the local people, she winds the figure dolls with who she meets, what she sees and hears. Wrapping the collective memories from the locals and her journey memories, the cloth and fabric record the sense of the present moment. Since the contemporary print equipment has become increasingly advance, the fabric print can accommodate a wider range of fabric textures and enhance printing clarity. The figure dolls was made by the cloth and fabric, and has become to the fabric again. Apart from fabric printing, Tseng makes the portfolio with the horizontal scroll by hand-sewing thread and hand-twisting rope. While the portfolio was unfolded, every figure doll was showed one by one with the map of the local area. The experience is just like using the GPS to searching the location. This is her creation on the form of book as the Artist's Books. The people and things Tseng met might connect to the next ones or the next journey. Without the order of sequence, all was decided by the observer's subjective consciousness Tseng's Journey of Global Textile Art. Eventually, the portfolio was fully opened with the red rope. All the figure dolls appearing simultaneously and the stories was included in the folded leaflet. 【About TSENG Yen-Yu】 Artist Zeng Yanwei's works have been invited to international textile art biennials around the world since 2014, including 16 countries including the United States, France, Russia, Italy, and Lithuania; and he has worked in Taiwan, Canada, Latvia and other regions. Residential creation of professional art. She has developed a unique creative approach that combines artistic expression with textiles, sculpture and puppetry. When creating, he uses thin stitches to shape old clothes of different materials to create three-dimensional expressions of human shapes and rings. In the emotional atmosphere of the objects, the interrelationship between human society and the natural environment is suggested. The materials of old clothes, scraps and local fibers, as an extension of its geographical coordinates and history, also reflect cultural styles and environmental cycles. It becomes a way of experiencing, communicating and thinking, creating connections with the environment and bringing together concepts of memory, history and storytelling. TSENG Yen-Yu is a Taiwanese artist with a MFA degree. Who uses old garments and waste textile by observation and experiment, for wrapping works as her own textile technique of deconstruction and re-assemblage. This is an unique way she created to sculpture fabrics as her style, especially after the trend of industrialization and globalization. She expresses objects and stories to reflect who she is and what surrounds her, as the interrelationship between human society and natural environment.