ARTIST STATEMENT
I make garments, wearables and installations to celebrate the moments when people cherish individual passions and embrace their existence, irrational as these moments might be considered by social norms. It is this irrationality of humans that intrigues me. I value individual truths, and the garments I make express happenings that illustrate this human characteristic, such as the LED fan board dresses that showcase how modern fans engage with the entertainment industry. My project Hodood, features new silhouettes derived from Mongolian costume patterns to convey the metaphor about how my life experiences have made it irreversible for me to become a traditional Mongolian living in the grassland. In this way, I also accept and embrace my current reality and create garments that symbolize my existence. My current project Not Another Ring In The Chainmail consists of organza, yarn, leather and motors that power moving chainmail wearables and installations, to contrast organic characteristics of humankind with machinery, and encourages the discovery and understanding of one’s own passions. Celebrating individual existence, which is sometimes negatively defined as irrational by social norms, my work challenges the conventional definition and following of logical behavior. Despite encouraging individual values, I still live in the real world where ambiguity is human nature; where dilemmas are everywhere. In this way, my work is not an answer, but more about a possibility for me to explore further.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Xiaowen Bao, an artist based in Chicago, holds an MFA in Fashion, Body and Garment from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She got her MEcon and worked for several years in the financial services industry in Beijing. In order to find passion in her daily work, she decided to redirect her energy and pursue fashion design as a career path, and earned a diploma at the Beijing Institute of Fashion and Technology. Since developing her work further at SAIC, her interdisciplinary practice has evolved, and blurs the boundary of fashion design and art. Xiaowen’s keen perspective and personal experiences frame her observations and reflections on contemporary happenings. Captivated by the irrationality of humans, Xiaowen focusses her work on the gamut of individual choices in society, and ambiguity in human nature. Her work has been featured in several group exhibitions, such as the Graduate Exhibition Two at the SAIC Galleries in Chicago, we are our own healers. we are our own medicine, organized by the Wellness Center of SAIC, and Prelude in the SAIC Fashion Department Sage Display.
© Xiaowen Bao