Weave:
Industrial silk spinning in China

Spin – Silk mill in Sou Chou, China 2005
Unraveling the silk cocoons and spinning the fine silk threads
Lee Lee – oil on linen | 20″ x 36″ | 2007

The loud clang of industrial mass production is frequent in China these days. Well-known for its sweat shop style of labor, it’s an ominous forecast for the future. In 2005 I photographed a silk mill outside of Shanghai. Under fluorescent lights, the colors of steel and cement are cold, edges sharp. The women working the mill have their backs turned or their faces obscured. The fast and chaotic movement of the mass production is echoed through high energy brushstrokes.

This work was a part of the Weave exhibition which explored textile production in three areas; textile mills where my grandmothers worked abandoned for production abroad, industrialized production in China and traditional methods maintained in Burma. This portion of the project offers a glimpse into the mass production in China. Small cocoons are seen being unfurled onto spinning wheels, which will then go to make fine silk products. The work embodies stark contrasts between hard machinery and soft material products; heavy iron equipment and delicate strands of silk thread, industrial and corporeal.

Alongside the paintings, I created a series of drawings made with ballpoint pen and sumi ink on vellum layered with Chinese newspapers: each 9″x11″ created in 2007.