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Textiles (MA)

Ruqian Wang

Ruqian wang (b.1999) was born in China. Ruqian graduated from the University of the Arts London with a first class degree in textiles.

Ruqian's work as a knitting artist crosses textiles and painting. She has a fascination for handicraft and painting, the tactile experience of making and the physicality of the act of painting give her a powerful intuitive creativity and emotional expression, and she is constantly exploring ways to combine knitting and painting, the intention is to create a unique emotional connection between personal thoughts, feelings and works.

In her work, she always emphasizes the creativity of the hand and the touch and perception of the world, believing that the human experience is always the most important, regardless of technological advances.

Award/ Article report

  • 2022/Xinao Knitting Emerging Designer Competition/Excellence Award
  • 2022/knitting industry creative/Knitwear&Knitted Textiles GraduateReview 2022:7 New talents to watch








Degree Details

School of DesignTextiles (MA)RCA2023 at Battersea and Kensington

RCA Kensington, Darwin Building, Seventh floor

personal work photo


Blurred Reality

Manual interaction with knitting machines is the technical thrust of the project, transforming and combining both hand and machine knitting. The project develops the potential of more textiles while emphasizing the creativity of the hand. In collaboration with materials and processes, the project explores the possibilities of combining painting and knitting through experimentation with different materials.

Out of curiosity about blurred things, rainy streets, views out of windows, photographic mistakes....opens up a state of exception from the everyday and.Putting a veil of mystery over everyday life scenes It allows each viewer to become a detective, hoping to discover decisive signs and provide imagination in it.

The purpose of the project is to create a hazy, ambiguous atmosphere through the use of a large number of furry materials, and through the combination of craft and painting the viewer is expected to view everyday scenes from different perspectives and make associations.

The project is still in the process of deepening its exploration, from more abstract scenes to concrete objects, placing the viewer in a private space and expecting the viewer to reflect on the feelings brought about by familiar objects and scenes.




knitted textile work
detail
From a scene during a walk in the park
The yarn is used as a brush to "paint" through the intarsia technique, in which each row required the hand to place each strand of yarn on the corresponding needle, and each row required a change in the position of the yarn to achieve the desired pattern.
photograph of foggy window
knitted fabric
detail
A blurred view through the fogged windows on a rainy day bus. The yarn is dyed with a gradient effect, and the pattern is "painted" with the intarsia technique.
knitted fabric
detail
The table light often used in my room. The combination of wire and knitting gives the textile a three-dimensional effect on the painted canvas, combining the textile with the painting to achieve an illusionary reality. At the same time, blurring the boundary between private space and public space