He Ning is a Chinese textile designer who primarily works with various knitting techniques, combining crochet, macramé, screen printing, dyeing, and photography as her creative language of conceptual knitting design. After graduating with a Master's degree in Biblical language studies in 2014, she does not only find inspiration from visual references, but also from her daily readings with a wide range of interests, from fiction to non-fiction. She uses textiles as a narrative language in her artworks, addressing the topics of unemployment, environmental challenges, identity loss and the living condition of marginalized groups.
He Ning
Visible Man
Visible Man is a series of knitting designs based on my experience of mending clothes of homeless people in London.
After the traumatic lockdown in Shanghai in 2022, I came to London. As an outsider to the culture, being far from my family, I try to explore what space means for human rights and humanity. The series of works drew inspiration from my city photographs, biblical text, and ancient Middle East costume traditions. The works also explore combining knitting and printing techniques in designing.
This digital knitted piece "Visible Man: The words that I have never managed to fully tell you, #2" is based on the text in Bible that Jacob fled from his brother and slept in the wild. (Gene.28:10-22)
55cm x 1095cm, merino wool.
Visible Man: The words that I have never managed to fully tell you, #2.
55cm x 1095cm, merino wool.
The image on the piece is a paragraph of the biblical text, which has been cut in the middle, the content of words is not complete.
"Visible Man: The words that I have never managed to fully tell you, #1" is a collection of pieces knitted with AYAB programme.
15cm width, wool.
"Visible Man: his bedroom, #1"
I explored the idea of "space" in this bedroom collection, also the interaction between knitting and printing techniques, and the combination of yarns with different materials.
62cm x 88cm, wool, polyester, heat transfer print.
"Visible Man: his bedroom, #2" is a knitted piece in that I used both screen printing and heat transfer printing techniques.
64cm x 87cm, wool, polyester, screen print, heat transfer print.
Medium:
AYAB knitted, digital knitted, knitted with print piece
I explored having screen prints on knitted pieces to give the fabric an organic colour effect.
42cm x 253cm, wool, merino, double blister tubular(Shima Siki).
Print screen and paint on the knitted wool fabric.
Screen printing on silk. (Images from my photographs)
My photograph.
All images I used in my works are from my photographs and drawings.
Medium:
Photography, digital knitted pieces with mono-print, screen printed piece
I add a corduroy patch on the back of the jacket to cover the cigarette holes. The fabric matches its collar material.
I have shortened the long trousers to shorts, and added two pockets on the leg position.
Medium:
clothes
I do not consider myself an artist because everyone can do art at any time, anywhere, with the materials in his/her hand, especially those underprivileged. I set apart one morning each week to mend the clothes of homeless people in London. They are a group of people with underestimated creativity; they brought me the clothes and materials they prepared and, most of the time, with their design ideas. What I did was follow their design and help to realize them. Their designs are both practical and with aesthetics.