Artist Profile Yuxuan Shang

Shang’s poetic, sculptural installation intertwines salvaged fibers and adaptive organic geometry to thoughtfully articulate the delicate intricacies of shared ecological existence.

Artist Statement

This work grows from my experience with birdwatching, where quiet observation becomes a way of understanding how different species adapt to environments shaped by human presence. In urban areas, I began noticing how birds incorporate fragments of human waste into their nests. This small yet persistent gesture revealed a relationship of coexistence that is both fragile and complex. It also made me reflect on the textile industry, which remains one of the largest contributors to global pollution, and how its excess materials inevitably return to the natural world.

The piece was constructed through dubied machine knitting, crochet, tying, and layering cotton yarn, bamboo, and recycled elastic fibers. These processes echo the improvisational intelligence of birds who gather and repurpose what they find. By following their gestures, I wanted the structure to feel adaptive and handmade, shaped by both necessity and care.

As a textile artist, I think about how materials carry histories of extraction, labor, and waste, and how creative practice might reimagine these trajectories. Co-nest reflects on shared habitats and the forms of shelter that emerge within an environment altered by human consumption. It invites viewers to consider the delicate negotiations between species and the possibility of creating spaces rooted in responsibility and coexistence.

Artist Biography

My name is Yuxuan Shang, and I am a textile artist and designer based in New York. My practice grows from a close connection with nature, childhood memories, and the process of working with fibers. Before studying textiles, I trained in biological sciences, and this experience still shapes how I observe materials, structures, and the environment.

I work with weaving, knitting, crochet, natural dyes, biodegradable materials, and reused or recycled fibers. Many of my projects begin with personal stories or small moments from daily life. I am interested in how materials can hold memory, how touch changes a surface, and how hand making can express quiet emotions.

Sustainability is an important part of my practice. I explore how textiles can respond to land, water, and ecological concerns by choosing materials that return to the earth or continue their life through reuse. My current works include nest inspired installations and textile forms shaped by emotions and natural structures. Through my practice I hope to build a caring and responsible approach to making that stays close to observation, touch, and the living world.