Exhibition Opening: In the Fold of the Infinite

In the Fold of the Infinite – A solo exhibition of Jiang Zhaojin
Curated by: Selena Yang
Opening Date: 17 Dec 2025, 16:00 – 19:00
Exhibition Period: 17 Dec 2025 – 6 Feb 2026
Venue: Oooit Art – Werkspoor International Art Center

In Jiang Zhaojin’s work, landscape is no longer laid out in ink but regenerated from pieces of denim that have been worn, washed, and folded. These fabrics once originated from the assembly lines of the global garment industry—consumed, discarded, and absorbed into the anonymous cycles of fast fashion. Yet in her hands, the creases, abrasions, mends, and tears of denim are reread as the contours of mountains, the drifting of clouds, and the movement of water. Traces left by unfamiliar bodies regain warmth and settle into the textures of a renewed landscape.

“In the Fold of the Infinite” refers not only to the layered silhouettes of mountains, but also to the folds inherent in the material itself—creases where time leaves its mark on fabric, just as society and history leave theirs on bodies and emotions. Soft matter carries overlooked labour, itinerant memories, and the personal experiences that industrial production so often attempts to flatten. Within these folds, fabric becomes image, stitching becomes gesture, and fragments become terrain; commodities mass-produced, consumed, and discarded regain a new life, and with it, the dignity of shifting from mere “objects” to renewed “existence.”

Growing up in the mountains of Southwest China, Jiang’s only tangible connection with her mother—who worked long-term in a distant garment factory—was the denim clothing mailed home over the years. Denim thus becomes more than a material: it is a point where industrial systems, women’s labour, and intimate bonds converge. Years later, despite her academic training in traditional Chinese painting, she returns to denim, treating it not only as a medium but as a metaphor. As she cuts, layers, and stitches these fabrics today, she asserts space for personal experience and emotional labour. The quiet elegance of literati painting meets the coarse textures of industrial production, merging into a landscape of countless peaks and waters —opening new possibilities for the contemporary articulation of Chinese Shan Shui (landscape painting).

Born in 1993 in Suining, Sichuan, China, Jiang holds a Master’s degree in Chinese Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts at Sichuan Conservatory of Music and has expanded her practice internationally through exchange programs at Universita IUAV di Venezia, the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, and Kookmin University in South Korea. Beyond her artistic innovation, Jiang has collaborated with major brands such as New Balance, Nike, Levi’s to explore sustainability in art, highlighting her commitment to socially engaged practice.