"Timeless Wonder" Jacket by Wang Lei

Fashioned like the jacket to an imperial robe, this garment by artist Wang Lei questions the viewer's expectations of class and status. Entitled "Timeless Wonder," the garment is designed to resemble attire from the Ming-dynasty, a period of Chinese culture with strict class distinctions, regulated in part by one's clothing. The imperial jacket is knit entirely of newsprint that has been cut into strips and painstakingly twisted into yarn. By using a material typically deemed as unwearable, Wang Lei shifts the garment's importance away from the implied social status and instead towards the wonders of dedicated craftsmanship. By creating a delicate piece of handicraft work from such a transient medium, Wang Lei celebrates cultural impermanence and suggests that perhaps the most enduring tradition is the humble act of creating.