Yin Xiuzhen

These mini metropolises were created by Yin Xiuzhen as part of her Portable Cities series (2002-2004).
Since the early nineties, Yin has been working with everyday materials such as second-hand clothes and fabrics to create sculptures laden with social references and personal reflections.
The buildings and landmarks in each suitcase were created from fabric materials Yin came across while spending time in the city each suitcase represents. The buildings she recreated were those she found memorable, for architectural or often personal reasons.
Her Portable Cities series explores issues of globalization and memory and of the modern pressure to keep moving and changing rather than living permanently in a single location.
Her work seems to reflect on the way one comes to understand and experience an environment after spending a good amount of time there.