Yiming Zhang

My work focuses on how we perceive the marks on our skin. Its inspiration comes from the widespread anxiety about appearance in contemporary society. Many people instinctively reject so-called “flaws” such as stretch marks. My mother, for example, has expressed her dislike for her surgical scar and even for the moles on my face. Such reactions led me to question the essence of beauty. If aesthetic perception is socially constructed, can we reinterpret these “imperfect” traces? If beauty is innate to nature, why do we resist its authentic forms? In my work, I print black-and-white images of these skin “flaws” onto fabric，embellishing them with colourful embroidery threads and naturally shaped, irregular pearls. Embroidery, a traditional form of women’s labour, involves repetitive, almost ritualistic gestures that symbolise both the social conditioning and the self-repairing processes women undergo under aesthetic norms. By fixing the fabric with an embroidery hoop, I also create a visual sense of tension around the “flaws,” echoing the invisible forces of social discipline. During the process of embroidery, I am often moved by the moment when the needle pierces through the fabric. The act feels like both mending and wounding—simultaneously gentle and violent. The resulting patterns appear decorative, yet they also retain the memory of wounds. This contradictory process made me realise that beauty does not emerge from a flawless surface, but grows through the interplay of these opposing forces. The irregular pearls I use symbolise bodily diversity and resilience, reflecting a more inclusive aesthetic grounded in lived experience and open to imperfection.