Ma Hailun named her design A Room of One's Own after British author Virginia Woolf's classic feminist novel.
She approached the carpet from the perspective of a photographer, retaining the traditional borders to frame it like a viewfinder. The focal point is on a young woman at ease in her own bedroom.
For her, the carpet symbolizes intimacy. Its soft, warm texture also feels feminine.
She views this as an innovation, given that traditional carpet patterns usually depict nature, landscapes and other macroscopic elements. She also made a deliberate choice to use baby pink and baby blue wools instead of the dark blue and red shades typical of Xinjiang carpets, with the intention of deviating from the traditional color scheme.
The weavers who brought her design to life in Hotan were all women.
"I really appreciate this female narrative. The carpet is interwoven with the stories of women from beginning to end," Ma Hailun says.
After this initial collaboration, she discovered that different weavers working from the same blueprint would produce finished carpets with subtle differences.
She plans to turn A Room of One's Own into a series by providing the women with uncolored sketches, and allowing them to interpret the colors for themselves and produce distinct carpets.
She will present them as collaborative pieces bearing both her name and those of the female artisans with whom she collaborates.
