The Wonder Room

In The Wonder Room, textile artist Jia Ling Lee constructs a space suspended between reality and imagination, using fabric and metal as her primary materials. The exhibition draws inspiration from the European Cabinet of Curiosities of the 16th to 18th centuries—an early form of museum in which natural specimens and exotic artifacts were meticulously collected and displayed as symbols of power and knowledge. Butterflies, shells, plant specimens, and animals were carefully catalogued and placed into boxes, becoming objects of both taxonomy and storytelling.

Wandering Through the Wonder Room is an exploration of collection and loss. Through soft materials and tactile language, the artist invites viewers to reexamine the delicate relationships between humans and nature, knowledge and fantasy.

Soft Vase

The collection takes inspiration from ancient porcelain vases found in the ”Batu Hitam“ shipwreck in 1998, where Indonesian fishermen discovered a sunken trade vessel from the Tang Dynasty of China bound for the Arab world along the coast. Using ancient porcelain submerged in the seabed for thousands of years as imagery, it presents a unique visual and tactile experience.

The creation of this soft sculpture collection simulates the engraving of ancient stone inscription through traditional quilting technique. By seeking clues from material culture and natural history, it mingles Eastern with Western cultures, travels through time and spaces, and proposes a reconstruction and reflection on the aesthetics of creation.

Award, Valcellina Award 11th

''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.

Exhibition, Art Space 182, Taiwan, 2021

‘’Soft Soul; Sleep’’ is a collection that presents a process of self-healing while a person or a plant is sleeping. Taking reference from “Sleep Movements”, a scientific literature published in the 50s. It refers that plants would change the position of leaves to reduce the light intensity during the night in order to protect itself. In this project, Jialing uses bedroom objects as a metaphor, with the wonder of ‘‘imaging how plants sleep’’,  making soft sculptures and wall hanging quilts as the process of self-healing.

Exhibition, Pharos, Tokyo, 2023

The Whisper of the Stones is a set of soft sculptures inspired by historic tales of a small island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan.

Jialing tells the story of how man's obsession with nature's beauty results in its disappearance. Covered in soft fabric, quietly murmuring tender softness, yet unable to erase the imprint of history.

36 Pieces of Jade, Dutch Design Week 2018

Anthropogenic, Bergstraat 8, 5611 JZ Eindhoven, Nederland

new technologies, old challenges > old materials, new challenges

In collaboration with the Kyoto Institute of Technology and Kyoto Design Lab, we visited Kyotango, a major silk production town in Japan, to explore new possibilities for contemporary textile design based on traditional Japanese culture and techniques.

Dot Dot Dot

Merge traditional natural dye processes with modern aesthetics and new ways of making.