duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa

artist duyi han installs it's raining outside, it's raining inside, pairing rain-ripple carpets, pleated organza sculptures, and embroidered cinematic lyrics to transform the domestic interior into a textile listening garden.

Duyi Han edited by christina vergopoulou October 28, 2026 4 min

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DUYI HAN turns SHANGHAI RESIDENCE INTO TEXTILE LISTENING GARDEN

Staged within the domestic interior of VILLA tbh in Shanghai, ‘it’s raining outside, it’s raining inside’ is a solo exhibition by designer and artist Duyi Han. Developed following a multi-week residency in the residence, the site-specific installation configures a ‘Listening Garden’ composed of textile sculptures, hand embroidery, objects, and acoustic elements. Drawing visual and atmospheric references from rainfall, cinema, fashion, and pop music, the project investigates how soft furnishings and narrative materiality alter spatial perception within a historic home.

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 1 — all images ©Duyi Han

Rain-ripple carpets and embroidered textiles shape the exhibition

At the core of the installation by artist Duyi Han, a custom carpet printed with concentric rain-ripple motifs grounds a cluster of pleated, translucent organza sculptures. The domestic rooms feature varied contextual interventions: a sheer, tailored garment suspended within a timber vitrine, embroidered sneakers arranged as static sculptural accents, resin water droplets suspended over the kitchen sink, and backlit textiles softening the bathroom surfaces. Graphic fragments of song lyrics and film dialogues are embroidered across the woven fabrics, embedding typographic narratives directly into the decorative textiles to link sound, light, and interior form throughout the residence.

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 2 — it’s raining outside, it’s raining inside is a solo exhibition by designer Duyi Han at VILLA tbh in Shanghai

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 3 — the project conceives a ‘Listening Garden’ realized through custom textiles, embroidery, and sound

duyi-han-shanghai-villa-textile-listening-garden-exhibition-designboom-1800-2 — rain motifs, cinematic references, and pop music lyrics inform the material and graphic language

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 4 — a pair of shoes and socks made in organza embroidered with Blood Orange lyrics ‘nothing is forgiven’

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 5 — at the center of the main room, a custom floor carpet features concentric circular rain-ripple prints

duyi-han-shanghai-villa-textile-listening-garden-exhibition-designboom-1800-3 — sculptural textile forms constructed from translucent organza rest on the patterned carpet surface

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 6 — a sculpture embroidered with Ariana Grande lyrics ‘practically drowning in my blessings’

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 7 — embroidered typography throughout the works incorporates phrases from film dialogues and song lyrics

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 8 — a transparent garment hangs in a vitrine, titled after Guitarricadelafuente lyrics

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 9 — ‘Ese Viento Fatal Me Ha Transformado en Otro Chaval’ (That Fatal Wind Has Turned Me into Another Kid)

duyi-han-shanghai-villa-textile-listening-garden-exhibition-designboom-1800-4 — domestic furniture items are paired alongside soft sculptural objects to blur functional boundaries

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 10 — an installation in a bathroom titled after Billie Eilish lyrics ‘I’ll run a shower for you like you want’

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 11 — water droplets made of 3D printed resin installed in a kitchen sink, with Tame Impala lyrics ‘how was I to know’

duyi han installs rain-inspired textile listening garden inside shanghai villa - 12 — translucent, softly backlit textiles line surfaces within the residential setting

project info:

name: it’s raining outside, it’s raining inside
artist: Duyi Han | @duyi.han

location: VILLA tbh, Shanghai, China

dates: October 24th – November 22nd, 2026

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.