Hao Wu

Hao Wu, a designer with a background in knitwear, is also dedicated to the development of fabrics and the exploration of integrated materials. With vast knowledge and experience working with industrial knitting machines, she has become disillusioned with the idea of industrial manufacturing and has endeavoured in breaking the boundaries and limitations of traditional knitting and intends to create alternative ways of presenting the principles of knitting.

Her work is often rich in colour and associated with the role of women. Hao's aims are to allow people to feel empowered by her work and the state of mind in which it can create.

Tenderness Beneath Firmness

The initial motivation for my project was when I saw an image on the news of a Tibetan woman carrying discarded electrical wires to earn extra family allowance. This photo brought to mind an image of somebody holding a bouquet of flowers for a futuristic world.

In China, it is often assumed that women should put their families first while often overlooking their own value.

This project explores the contrast of different materials to reflect both tender and tough sides of women. Even when they return to their families, we can still see the strength and beauty deep within them. By contrasting between the usage of wire and fabric, and the industrial and textile aspects of the craft of machine knit and hand crochet, ironically reflects the contrast between most of the choices women encounter in our society.

Hao Wu is experimenting with her own way of creating knitted flower paintings that give a sense of how she feels about this phenomenon and give women the power to affirm it.