Exhibition Threads of Kinship explores Self-Comb Sisters' legacy through contemporary art at Kadist Paris
Running until 10 January 2026 at Kadist in Paris, the exhibition "Threads of Kinship" delves into the Self-Comb Sisters, a group of women from the Pearl River Delta in China who gained financial autonomy within the silk industry during the 19th century. Following the industry's decline in the 1930s, these celibate sericulturists established female phalansteries and transitioned to domestic work. The exhibition showcases the work of 11 artists, including Hu Yinping, Chen Jialu, Ashmina Ranjit, Yee I-Lann, Sawangwongse Yawnghwe, Gaëlle Choisne, and Risham Syed, who explore themes of empowerment, sisterhood, and colonial trade while examining the unique nature of their Confucian-influenced empowerment in relation to Western feminism.
Key facts
- Exhibition Threads of Kinship runs at Kadist, Paris through 10 January 2026
- Focuses on Self-Comb Sisters, women from China's Pearl River Delta silk industry in the 19th century
- Self-Comb Sisters organized into female phalansteries, took celibacy vows, and avoided marriage
- Many migrated to Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong after the 1930s silk collapse
- Features 11 artists including Hu Yinping, Chen Jialu, Ashmina Ranjit, and Yee I-Lann
- Hu Yinping's Potatoes Grow on Trees (2025) crocheted by older women in Luzhou, Sichuan Province
- Chen Jialu's works Gupoyu (2022) and Hear (2025) based on archival interviews with Self-Comb women
- Exhibition explores themes of colonialism, migration, female resistance, and Confucian feminism
Entities
Artists
- Hu Yinping
- Chen Jialu
- Ashmina Ranjit
- Yee I-Lann
- Sawangwongse Yawnghwe
- Gaëlle Choisne
- Risham Syed
- Ma Qiusha
Institutions
- Kadist
- ArtReview
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Pearl River Delta
- China
- Luzhou
- Sichuan Province
- Singapore
- Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Myanmar
- Haiti
- Brittany