应歆珣的作品中存在着一种内在矛盾的张力与坚忍的爆发力：你很难不被它们的美丽与优雅所吸引，却又害怕被那些尖锐的触角和坚硬的刀刺所伤害；明明是缝补在他物之上的线脚与伤口，却因透明的光感和亲肤的触觉而令你的身与心都莫名刺痛；材料是如此之轻，与光为舞，似乎化入空气，但又如此凝重，仅仅针眼的凹入和线脚的隐现就压得你喘不过气来；它们看似轻松之作，却包含着艺术家多年来对人生，对生命不断地重新认知与解读。的确，在国内新一代崛起的青年艺术家中，像应歆珣这样，能将纤维材料的平和、纤柔、亲肤的触感通过思维的转换发挥至一种深度，令作品产生另一种截然相反的躁动、变异与危险之感，又能将这些元素与内心的情感融合在一起的艺术家，实在鲜少。
第一次看到应歆珣作品的人，很难想象如此有张力和爆发力的作品竟出自一位个头娇小，永远笑眯眯，讲话慢声慢调，每天想着法子给五岁的女儿变换花样做小蛋糕的年轻母亲，在工作室大家都亲切地称她为小应。小应与纤维艺术的不解之缘是从2003年开始的，那一年她进入中国美术学院雕塑系第五工作室，是雕塑系分为五个工作室后第一批进入五工的本科生，也可谓是国内纤维艺术专业方向最早的学生。那一年，工作室只招收了两名本科生，当时有两位老师，一位教辅，师生比例3 : 2。可想就与导师交流学习这一点来说，那一届学生的条件是十分优越的，小应也没有浪费这个资源，迅速地完成了从雕塑的硬质材料到纤维软材料的转型。同时，她将雕塑的力量感和爆发力带入自己的纤维艺术世界中，之后又继续攻读硕士学位。《都市碎片》系列是她硕士阶段的创作与研究，关注的是对当下社会时尚消费中“美丽谎言”的反思，将都市女孩的追求与梦想被一种假象撕碎又缝补后的伤感，以一种有点唯美，有点诡异又支离破碎的形式呈现出来。作品运用牛皮的张力和透光性，与梳妆家具相结合，极具女性特质却不娇弱，成为她最早的关于纤维材料矛盾性的探索实验。可以说这一系列是她成功的开始。
如果说小应的早期艺术作品是对纤维材料张力的探索尝试，那么近年来她在作品中所表达的那种矛盾性，就是更为有意识和自发的了。这种愈发明确的指向性来自她生活的变动，母亲在她事业和家庭的成长期突然患病，手术前医生的一句话“别怕，我会给你缝道美丽的伤疤”成为触发她艺术神经的痛点。由疾病引发的伤痛、恐惧、害怕成为这一阶段她艺术创作的关键词，而那道“美丽的伤疤”则成为纤维艺术表现手段的最好注解。小应在用不同的方式、手段、材料亲手去缝合那道“美丽的伤疤”，她尝试通过感官的转移获得能量，这亦是从与母亲的离别中找寻对生命、对生活的另一种看待方式。
2016年，小应将她的首次个展命名为“Don't worry”，即是向我们展示她这些年对这种看待方式的艺术思索，正如她自己所说：“（我）用科技生态的假象营造既安详又令人不适的物象，探讨面对现实、时间所产生的焦虑与期望的矛盾心理，我们所正在应对这一事实的现状。”
纤维艺术的世界或许是柔软的，但不是柔弱的；或许是平和的，但不是平淡的；或许是无声的，但不是无力的；或许是敏感的，但不是脆弱的。应歆珣的艺术，让我们看到了纤维语言的丰富性。生命不能承受之轻，或许是对她的艺术作品的一个恰当注解。
施慧
2017年

You can clearly tell the tension from an internal conflict and an explosive force from Ying Xinxun’s artworks. It is unlikely for you not being impressed by their sheer beauty and elegance; however you are so afraid that you might be hurt by their sharp blade. They are nothing but needlework pieces, however, because of the transparent light sensation and the skin sensitive touch, somehow you can feel the pain for no reason. Those chosen materials are so light and can dance with the light; but they carry heavy weight. You feel suffocating by merely looking at the half-seen needle eyes and knots. The creation of these artworks seem to be a piece of cake; however it also reflects an artist’s philosophy of life.
Among many rising young artists in China, Ying Xinxun is the very few who can translate the tactile impression of fiber materials into a new height. In her artworks the peaceful, tender and skin sensitive texture of fiber materials creates a totally different impression, which is restless, alienated and dangerous. It is extraordinary for Ying to combine these elements with emotional feelings.
Anyone who has been deeply impressed by Ying Xinxun’s artworks will be shocked in seeing her in person. Ying’s artwork is so explosive and powerful, but Ying is a young mother who is delicate, always smiles, speaks slowly and keeps thinking of making home-made cakes for her 5-year-old daughter. She is fondly called Xiaoying by her colleagues at her studio. Ying first grew a strong affection with fiber art back in 2003, when she was selected by the 5th studio of Department of Sculpture of China Academy of Art. In other words, she was among the first few Chinese students with fiber art as their majors. At that time each studio only recruited two undergraduate students, supported by two teachers and one teaching assistant. The learning environment was indeed very excellent. By making full use of the available resources, Ying succeeded in making the transformation from hard-material sculpture art to soft-material fiber art quickly.In addition, Ying succeeded in bringing the sense of power and explosive power, two characteristic elements of sculpture, into her own fiber art creation. Ying later continued her postgraduate program on fiber art. Urban Debris series were created during her postgraduate studies, aiming to portray the beautiful lies in our modern society. We can feel the sadness when an urban girl’s dream is unfulfilled and broken, but Ying’s artwork is displayed in an artistic but weird form. Ying made full use of the tension of cow leather and its light-admitting quality, and mended cow leather onto dressing furniture, bearing a distinct feminine characteristic but not weak at all. That was Ying’s earliest exploratory experiment on the contradictoriness of fiber materials, which was the very start for her future success.
Ying’s early artworks were an exploratory experiment on the tension of fiber materials; but Ying’s recent artworks were the brainchild of spontaneous and intentional attempt to reflect the contradictoriness of fiber materials. To me, such a change was from Ying’s personal life. Her mother suddenly fell ill, and prior to her having a surgery a doctor comforted her:“Don’t worry, I will mend you a beautiful scar.” The very sentence instantly became a pain spot for Ying’s artistic creation, and fear and pain caused by diseases became the key words of her artistic creation at this stage. The beautiful scar series also helped further promote the fiber art to the wider audience. Ying succeeded in mending the beautiful scars, by using different forms of artistic creation means and materials, and gained new energy through sensory transformation. To me, she has gained a better understanding of life from her mother’s passing away.
Ying named her first solo exhibition with the title “Don’t worry”, as she wanted to reveal her philosophy of life and her artistic thinking. She said:“I want to use illusions made by science and technology to create a comfortable but disturbing view. We should closely examine the anxiety when facing the reality, and the contradiction when an expectation fails.”
The fiber art world maybe soft, but not weak at all; maybe peaceful, but never dull; maybe silent, but never fragile; maybe sensitive but never vulnerable. Thanks for Ying’s artistic creation, we can see the richness of fiber art. The unbearable lightness of being is the best footnote for Ying’s artworks.
Shi Hui
2017