Unravelling.mov
Being a woman, being a migrant, moving from ‘East’ to ‘West’; Drifting between cities and countries, the unfixed luggage, uncertain rental agreements, and visas that may or may not be renewed. These, like threads, intertwine and pull at our sense of ‘home’.
Unravelling.mov is an evolving project that blends performance, scenography, andcommunity engagement to explore the concept of "home." A collective-crocheted blanketserves as both a prop and a metaphor, under which participants and performers enact subtle, dreamlike movements, evoking the gentle breathing and shifting of sleep—symbolizing safety, comfort, and intimacy. Inspired by personal experiences of migration and diaspora, theparticipatory performance integrates crochet and weaving, with the act of creating andunravelling the blanket becoming part of the narrative. The project unfolds through workshopswhere community members share voice samples, personal stories, and engage in movementand physical making to create a collective dialogue on home and belonging.
This is a collaborated project by performance and image maker Runxuan Yang, applied theatre facilitator and feminist activist Zhiqiu Cao, and crochet artist and history researcher Siqing Zhan. Sharing the experience of growing up in China and navigating identitiesbetween the East and the West, their individual and collaborative works spark dialogues ondecolonization, diaspora, and gender intersections combining textile with participatory art.Recently, they began exploring new synergies in performance, crocheting, visual storytelling,poetry, and community workshops, aiming to create art that inspires intercultural reflection and connections.