Siyi Feng

Textiles (MA)
This is a photo of the artist Siyi Feng gazing at one of her art installations during her graduation exhibition.
This installation is a series of embroidery, sewing, twisting, cutting and folding.
This installation is a series of embroidery, sewing, twisting, cutting and folding.
Transformable Cocoon-Like Installation Inspired by Insect Exoskeletons
The orchestrated placement and movement of metal components across the waxed fabric function as a diagrammatic mapping—an attempt to visualize structural relationships and interactions within the project.
The orchestrated placement and movement of metal components across the waxed fabric function as a diagrammatic mapping—an attempt to visualize structural relationships and interactions within the project.
A top-down documentation of metal placements on waxed fabric, capturing the process of spatial arrangement and transformation.
This is an art installation based on a hyperbolic spiral form, constructed through the folding of waxed fabric. On both sides, the structure is framed by UV-printed dual-layer aluminum panels, which serve as both structural support and graphic surfaces. The piece explores a biomimetic dialogue between insect morphology and industrial design, interpreting natural anatomical features through engineered processes. The spiraling form and layered materials evoke exoskeletal systems, while the use of aluminum and printed surfaces suggests a synthetic reinterpretation. By employing compression and folding techniques, the work manipulates the geometry of the spiral to create variations and deformations—symbolizing the tension between organic growth and mechanical constraint. The combination of soft and rigid materials embodies a hybridization of natural patterns and industrial manufacturing, highlighting the convergence of biological inspiration and technological expression.
This is an art installation based on a hyperbolic spiral form, constructed through the folding of waxed fabric. On both sides, the structure is framed by UV-printed dual-layer aluminum panels, which serve as both structural support and graphic surfaces. The piece explores a biomimetic dialogue between insect morphology and industrial design, interpreting natural anatomical features through engineered processes. The spiraling form and layered materials evoke exoskeletal systems, while the use of aluminum and printed surfaces suggests a synthetic reinterpretation. By employing compression and folding techniques, the work manipulates the geometry of the spiral to create variations and deformations—symbolizing the tension between organic growth and mechanical constraint. The combination of soft and rigid materials embodies a hybridization of natural patterns and industrial manufacturing, highlighting the convergence of biological inspiration and technological expression.
This is a side-angle documentation of the installation, captured through a process of tensional manipulation.
This installation explores a series of material experiments with brass, incorporating bird and insect forms as foundational motifs. Embroidered textile elements serve as the primary visual components, which are wax-treated to enhance their structural integrity and stiffness. These waxed embroidery pieces are then assembled using custom brass connectors, allowing for articulated movement and reconfiguration. The result is a modular system that blurs the boundary between textile softness and metallic rigidity. Through the interplay of naturalistic motifs and mechanical adaptability, the work evokes a hybrid organism—part organic, part engineered.
This installation explores a series of material experiments with brass, incorporating bird and insect forms as foundational motifs. Embroidered textile elements serve as the primary visual components, which are wax-treated to enhance their structural integrity and stiffness. These waxed embroidery pieces are then assembled using custom brass connectors, allowing for articulated movement and reconfiguration. The result is a modular system that blurs the boundary between textile softness and metallic rigidity. Through the interplay of naturalistic motifs and mechanical adaptability, the work evokes a hybrid organism—part organic, part engineered.
The work embodies a fusion of natural forms and metallic structure, suggesting a deeper convergence between the organic and the mechanical. By drawing from avian and insect morphologies and reinterpreting them through engineered materials and joints, the piece explores the transformation of soft, living systems into hybrid mechanical organisms—blurring the boundary between nature and machine, craft and construction.
This installation is a series of embroidery, sewing, twisting, cutting and folding.
The orchestrated placement and movement of metal components across the waxed fabric function as a diagrammatic mapping—an attempt to visualize structural relationships and interactions within the project.
This is an art installation based on a hyperbolic spiral form, constructed through the folding of waxed fabric. On both sides, the structure is framed by UV-printed dual-layer aluminum panels, which serve as both structural support and graphic surfaces. The piece explores a biomimetic dialogue between insect morphology and industrial design, interpreting natural anatomical features through engineered processes. The spiraling form and layered materials evoke exoskeletal systems, while the use of aluminum and printed surfaces suggests a synthetic reinterpretation. By employing compression and folding techniques, the work manipulates the geometry of the spiral to create variations and deformations—symbolizing the tension between organic growth and mechanical constraint. The combination of soft and rigid materials embodies a hybridization of natural patterns and industrial manufacturing, highlighting the convergence of biological inspiration and technological expression.
This installation explores a series of material experiments with brass, incorporating bird and insect forms as foundational motifs. Embroidered textile elements serve as the primary visual components, which are wax-treated to enhance their structural integrity and stiffness. These waxed embroidery pieces are then assembled using custom brass connectors, allowing for articulated movement and reconfiguration. The result is a modular system that blurs the boundary between textile softness and metallic rigidity. Through the interplay of naturalistic motifs and mechanical adaptability, the work evokes a hybrid organism—part organic, part engineered.

About

 

Siyi Feng is an artist whose practice centers around installations and structural forms. She studied Fine Art at Kingston University for her undergraduate degree, with a focus on sculpture and oil painting. During her time at the Royal College of Art, she conducted a series of explorations into origami using a variety of materials. By studying the structures and connective systems found in insects, she developed a body of work that investigates the relationships between different materials through observation, experimentation, and structural analysis.

What Siyi carries forward from this project is a deepened awareness of how subtle material choices—connection methods, reflectivity, folds—can shape spatial experience. Moving ahead, she aims to further explore systems that combine modularity, transformation, and participation. Her future works will continue to navigate the space between mechanical precision and the unpredictability of organic processes, letting structure, surface, and sensation evolve together.

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