The Afternoon That Turned into an Exhibition（苗绣自己说了话）

In summer 2023, I was staying at my friend Yu’s home in the U.S. One quiet afternoon, she invited four friends over for tea—three of them American. We sat around a low table, listening to her talk about tea and culture. I casually brought out a few Miao embroidery pieces and unfolded them on the mat.

I didn’t plan to present anything. I simply shared the stories behind each cloth—the mountains it had crossed, the hands that stitched it, the festivals it had witnessed. The sun streamed in gently, and the symbols on the fabric seemed to breathe.

My English was limited, but I could feel it—they were captivated. Not by how “delicate” the work was, but by something deeper. Two of them were artists working with a local art center. One, Anna, had worked at a gallery in Beijing and was fluent in the language of contemporary art.

A week later, I received an invitation:Would I curate an eight-week solo exhibition on Miao embroidery at their center?

It became my first Miao embroidery exhibition in the United States.

There was no pitch. No translator. No plan.Just embroidery, glowing quietly in the presence of those who could see it.

Some things don’t need to be explained.When the right eyes meet the right thread, Miao embroidery speaks for itself.

那个下午，苗绣自己说了话

2023年夏末，我在美国朋友余姐姐家小住。那天下午，她请了几位朋友来喝茶，有四位，其中三位是美国人。我们围坐在茶席旁，听她讲茶、谈文化，我把一件件苗绣拿出来给他们看。

我没打算“展示”什么，只是随手展开几幅绣片，讲讲它们的来历、它们在苗寨里经历过的风霜和节日。茶室安静而松弛，绣片铺开时，阳光照进来，那些符形像有了生命。

我英语有限，但我能感受到——他们在第一眼就喜欢上了苗绣。那不是因为它“精美”，而是因为它有一种难以言说的气场。尤其是其中两位是艺术家，来自一个本地艺术中心，其中一位 Anna 曾在北京画廊工作，对当代艺术也很熟。

他们走后的一个星期，我就收到了他们的邀请：希望我能在他们艺术中心做一次苗绣专题展，为期八周，由我担任策展人。

那是我在美国的第一次苗绣展。没有策展提案、没有翻译计划、没有说服——只是一块块绣片，在对的人面前，自己发了光。

有些理解，是无须言语的。在看得懂的人面前，苗绣自己会说话。