choi+shine and volunteers crochet twelve zodiac animals in one suspended lace installation

Choi+Shine Explore Connection Through Lace Installation

Distance, a thread installation by Choi+Shine for the 2025 Hangzhou Fibre Art Triennial, examines how spatial perception shapes connection. Developed in collaboration with local communities and supported by the China Academy of Art, the project aligns with the Triennial’s theme, Re-Constellation, which reflects on how constellations, constructed relationships between distant stars, serve as collective frameworks rather than physical realities.

The installation extends this idea by considering how contemporary social conditions influence the way people orient themselves and form networks. The work employs perspectival illusion and foreshortening to emphasize viewer position, using spatial distortion to reduce both physical and perceived distance. Materially, the project centers on lace, a textile associated with precision, labour, and traditional craftsmanship. While often viewed as delicate, lace requires sustained effort and technical skill. Its structure, formed through interlinked threads, operates as a symbolic and material analogy for connection across different groups and contexts. Community involvement was integral to the making process, positioning crocheting craft as a shared activity and redistributing authorship across participants.

all images courtesy of Choi+Shine

Interlinked Threads Form Spatial Narrative in ‘Distance’

Suspended above a dark pool of water, the installation consists of crocheted forms representing the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. The Zodiac functions as a cultural system linked to identity, timekeeping, and communal orientation. In the installation, each element is complete on its own but becomes part of a larger composition when viewed along a central axis, where the arrangement aligns into a recognisable zodiac circle. This spatial organisation incorporates parallax, allowing the forms to shift in relation to one another as the viewer moves.

The interaction with water introduces reflective surfaces that alter depth perception. The reflections blur visual boundaries, generating a secondary image layer that complicates the distinction between object and environment. For Choi+Shine Studio, light plays a central role in the installation’s behaviour: the contrast between the white lace and the dark water produces chiaroscuro effects, while shadows projected onto the museum walls extend the work beyond the suspended forms. The openings in the lace create repeating geometric patterns, adding another visual layer as light shifts across the surface.

the installation explores how spatial perception influences human connection

lace structures highlight the precision and labour embedded in traditional craft

parallax effects cause the forms to shift as visitors move around the space

the installation uses perspectival distortion to emphasize the viewer’s position

interlinked threads create a material analogy for social and cultural networks

the project connects local craftsmanship with contemporary spatial practices

each zodiac figure stands independently, yet aligns into a circle when viewed head-on

a dark reflective pool below the work alters depth perception

light and shadow extend the installation onto the museum walls

the crocheted surfaces create geometric patterns as light moves across them

crocheted figures emphasise both cultural symbolism and material construction

contrasts between white lace and dark water produce strong chiaroscuro effects

viewers become part of the composition through movement and shifting perspectives

the installation transforms traditional lacework into large-scale spatial structures

water reflections generate a secondary image layer beneath the suspended forms

project info:

name: Distance
designers: Choi+Shine | @choishinearch

lead designers: Jin Choi + Thomas Shine
structural design: Thomas Shine

frame fabrication: 魏濤 Wei Tao

installation: 魏濤 Wei Tao, 康俊彦 Kang Kang and his team, 浙江美术馆 Zhejiang Art Museum Staff and Volunteers

assistant curator: 李军毓 Dr Junyu Li

co-curator: 黄燕 Prof Yan Huang

co-curator: 黄燕 Prof Yan Huang

artistic director: 施慧 Shi Hui

exhibition director: 应金飞 Jinfei Ying

special thanks to: Zhejiang Art Museum Chloe Wu, 中国美术学院 China Academy of Art, Volunteer Group Leaders: 吴沁 Wu Qin, 萧潇 Xiao Xiao, 朱亦楚 Zhu Yichu, 张倩雯 Zhang Qianwen, 王子若 Wang Ziruo, 单子芬 Shan Zifen, 朱晨希 Zhu Chenxi, 王嘉琦 Wang Jiaqi, 125 Volunteer Participants

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom