The New Antique is a project addressing the impact of digital technique, craft, and waste materials for designers in this generation. Jialing Lee developed her methodology of making ‘lucky charms’, influenced by ancient superstitions and local beliefs. She demonstrates a new view point of how humans make and connect with objects within the era of sustainable design, and through her work communicates the idea of innovation as not using new technologies alone, but combining these technologies with cultural heritage and nature.

During her time studying for an MA at the RCA, Jialing has become fascinated with the emotional role that fabric plays in our lives, and how it often exists in the interior and exterior as an ‘object’. A piece of fabric could be a blanket, a cloak, or a divider. These are essential objects that people associate with protection, a shelter, or a place to rest. Jialing made a ‘double cloak’ which allowed two or three people at a time to wear it, as well as an ‘endless scarf’ which was 4 meters long.By making such ‘unusual objects’, to represent the feeling of attachment with people that we are close to, we want to keep them happy and safe. This is the idea behind giving someone a lucky charm, and for Jialing, this is also why we make things and why it matters.

The New Antique 新古董系列，是我在2019年於英國皇家藝術學院，就讀織品碩士時的其中一組畢業作品，當時做了一系列的手扇。

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在2017到2019年中間，我一直在研究一些我們生活中的老物件，尤其是人所賦予物件的象徵性大過於他的實用/功能層面。扇子就是一個這樣的例子。

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扇子是一個存在於東西方，而且最早在古希臘時就存在的物件，而它的希臘文的古意是震動的空氣。除了煽風，乘涼，也有許多時候，他代表是一個權力的象徵。在亞洲文化裡扇子也有許多的意涵。我特別喜歡的是，曾經讀過一篇故事，在遙遠的過去，當一個女孩送了一把扇子給男孩，是一種，偷偷說我喜歡你的意思。我覺得在亞洲文化裡有許多這樣含蓄的表意。比如情人的紅線，家族傳承的玉鐲子，或是刻在木頭傢具上的一顆小桃子，祈求新年平安的稻草繩。對一個當代的設計者來看，很像是去重新抽絲剝繭一個關於材料與物件的符號學，並透過這些語言去串聯了包含了親情、友情、愛情的各種人與人之間的聯繫。