根根松针根根丝 Of Pine Needles and Silk Dimensions variable | 2026 Degummed silk, pine needles, tree branches, stones, bird feathers, insect specimens, cast glass, sand, soil Commissioned by Aranya Art Center
Degummed silk is produced by removing sericin from silk, leaving it soft, light, and highly flexible. In the work, silk threads extend throughout the exhibition space, forming an expansive spatial structure together with pine needles and branches: descending from above, crossing the walls, extending close to the floor, and eventually entering the ground. The pine needles and branches were collected during fieldwork at Aranya Jinshanling. Growing naturally in pairs, the pine needles possess an inherent structural quality that allows them to bend and spring back in response to subtle forces. Through placing, binding, and interlocking, the silk threads and pine needles are brought into relation, altering their original distribution of forces and allowing them to respond to one another through mutual tension. The work does not predetermine the final relationships between its materials. Instead, it gradually takes shape through continuous observation, adjustment, and response. Gravity, space, time, and the properties of the materials themselves all participate in the formation of the work, keeping the structure in a state between change and balance.
岸上都是沙 Where the Tide Leaves Things Dimensions variable | 2026 Driftwood, hemp twine, sea glass, sand
The work is composed of driftwood, hemp twine, sea glass, sand, and the wall itself. Through support, tension, and dependence, these different materials form relationships with one another and sustain a structure held in a state of balance within the space. The driftwood was collected from the coast of Xu Sanhuang’s hometown. Shaped by waves, abrasion from sand and stone, and prolonged weathering, it bears naturally formed textures and traces of time. The hand-twisted hemp twine, made from a plant fiber once widely used in fishing, extends the lived experience of the coastal environment together with the driftwood. Sea glass and sand further connect the materials to the shoreline. Xu Sanhuang only sands and drills the driftwood where necessary for structural connection, preserving as much of its original state as possible. Rather than shaping the materials into a predetermined form, she continuously adjusts them until the driftwood, hemp twine, wall, and other elements gradually establish a relationship of mutual support. This balance is not a fixed result, but a process that is continuously re-established through the ongoing effects of weight, tension, and time.
常有蝴蝶飞过 Butterflies Often Fly By 34 × 114 × 305 cm | 2026 Paper mulberry trunk, silk, butterfly specimen
This work emerged from Xu Sanhuang’s field research in Guizhou on embroidery, thread, and local narratives. Composed of a paper mulberry trunk, raw silk, and butterfly specimens, the work relies on the weight, tension, and points of support between objects to sustain a balance that appears almost still yet remains in continuous motion. Within the local context, thread is not merely a means of joining materials; it is also connected to local ecology, embroidery, memories of migration, rituals, and blessings. Silk strands can be twisted together to form a new thread; hemp rope can be extended through the same process; and strips of red cloth left from rituals may be twisted into cords and worn as wishes for safety and well-being. Here, twisting thread is not simply a technical action, but also a gesture of connection, continuation, transformation, and transmission. The tree trunk retains its weight, branching structure, and traces of growth, while being pushed toward the form of a “needle.” Raw silk, originally soft and delicate, becomes a thread capable of bearing tension once twisted together. The butterfly specimen, though extremely light, rests at the end of the thread as a small point of force within this system of tension. These elements are not joined through fixed or stable connections. Instead, through piercing, winding, hanging, touching the ground, and suspension, they are temporarily organized into a structure that remains unresolved. Rather than directly adopting embroidery imagery or attempting to reproduce a particular local cultural form, the work translates the actions of “threading a needle,” “twisting thread,” and “stitching” into a structure of mutual counterbalance sustained by material, gravity, and space.
看来树长这样 So This Is How a Tree Looks 140 × 430 × 20 cm | 2025–2026 Paper mulberry trunk, paper mulberry pulp, raw silk, insect remains, fossils
The work is composed of paper mulberry pulp, paper mulberry trunks, raw silk, and insect remains. The paper mulberry no longer appears as a complete entity: one part has become a fibrous, spreadable pulp surface, while another retains the form, weight, and traces of growth of its branches and trunk. Raw silk is not only present as a material but also physically bears the forces of suspension and support. Through weight, tension, contact, and angle, the different materials become entangled with one another and gradually approach a state that can only temporarily hold. The fragmented wing resting on the tip of a branch likewise no longer points toward a complete or clearly identifiable insect. The work preserves what remains after these objects have been separated and transformed: fibers, branches, silk, fragments, and forms that function more as traces than as definitions. An object often appears complete and specific only after it has been recognized and named; yet at the same time, it can never be reduced to a single way of understanding. These materials emerged from encounters and transformations during the artist’s residency in Guizhou. For this work, Guizhou is not merely a place from which materials were obtained. It also allowed Xu Sanhuang to see more clearly that things commonly identified and categorized under a single name continue to contain smaller, more specific differences that resist being summarized in a single phrase.
边界 Where Edges Meet dimensions variable ｜2025 Bamboo Slat, Tissue Paper, Sea Glass, Raw Silk, Seeds of Ceiba speciosa
The two ends of a bamboo slat are joined before the middle is opened outward and mounted with tissue paper, creating a zone of continuous tension between the two materials. Sea glass is inserted into the gap, held in a state in which it appears about to slip yet remains tightly caught. The entire work is suspended with raw silk and moves slightly with the circulation of air, continuously activating the boundary between support and release. Seeds and fibers of Ceiba speciosa are scattered across the floor, shifting subtly with the movement of the work and extending its effects throughout the exhibition space. The Ceiba speciosa seeds used in the work were collected by the artist’s mother before preparations for the exhibition began. After seeing Xu Sanhuang collect seeds and leaves for her work, she began gathering them for her as well. This repeated act of collecting gradually brought the two of them into closer connection.
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=Mzg5MzI0MzEyNQ==&mid=2247488363&idx=1&sn=ac3d67d68975ed10d7f1d51581893975&chksm=c03088f1f74701e7a9f92306db46235c0e8f038b852b2e8aea14df4bbc12591fc07c4a2f653a#rd许三煌个展｜未决之物（Official Account Article）
