FISHSKINLAB - HEZHE FISH SKIN

HEZHE FISH SKIN

I am thrilled to have contributed to the latest issue of Southern China Airlines In-flight Magazine, which features an interview by Stephanie Yao Gou on the Hezhe tradition of fish skin art. Through cross-cultural collaboration, fieldwork, and sustainable design, the article highlights the significant role Indigenous knowledge can play in shaping the future of fashion.

I am extremely grateful to Stephanie for promoting this cultural practice, and especially thankful for the opportunity to work alongside Hezhe artists Wenfeng Yu, who led a fish skin tanning workshop in 2018 for University of the Arts, London (UAL) students in Heilongjiang Province, and Yulin Sun, who taught fish skin painting.

The article also showcases the exceptional work of Zhongjin Zhang a BA Performance Design and Practice student at Central Saint Martins who later pursued a Master’s degree in History of Art and Archaeology at SOAS. Zhongjin Zhang participated in the Hezhe fish skin workshop and subsequently launched his own brand, Tan Your Waste. In response to the climate crisis and the issue of daily food waste, he delivered several fish skin tanning workshops at CSM as part of UAL’s Climate Emergency programme. He has continued to collaborate with the Hezhe community, and I am extremely grateful of his ongoing support for my research.

Also featured is the work of Foning Bao a Fashion Knit student at Central Saint Martins and participant in the Hezhe fish skin workshop. Through Wenfeng Yu’s lectures, she learnt about the history of the Hezhe people, along with hands-on training in traditional tanning techniques. During her final year of study, Bao returned to Heilongjiang, engaged further with the local community, and sourced fish skins for her graduate collection. Her work merged fish skin with crochet and pearls, transforming traditional practices through innovative silhouettes. Drawing from Hezhe approaches to material sustainability, she developed garments that required no cutting, no waste, and no excess knitting.

Many thanks to Jay Zaccheus for his outstanding work at co-creating a small capsule collection of fish skin bags together with Zhongjin Zhang and myself feauturing the wonderful fish skin paintings by Hezhe artist Yulin Sun.

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Hezhe fish skin artists, students, and researchers in preserving this rich and vital tradition.

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