A Cosmic Legend Comes Alive in De Gournay’s New Artist Collaboration

The latest collaboration between De Gournay and Chinese artist Wanbing Huang marks a harmonious celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon. 

Transforming Huang’s Yan Yan installation art into bespoke hand-painted wallpaper, the project captures the spirit of Chinese mythology and its various cosmic concepts in a creative artistic design. 

Huang explored ancient Chinese star maps, connecting the dots to create a contemporary prototype of Suan Ni, the mythical fifth son of the Dragon in Chinese mythology.  

The exhibit will make its debut at The Middle House in Shanghai, China before being displayed at The Temple House in Chengdu and The Opposite House in Beijing.

‘Every auspicious beast has its secret, and Yan Yan’s secret is that it doesn’t like to move,” Huang says. “There are countless worlds and stories in its belly, so it prefers to wander in its own worlds.”

De Gournay, famed for its exquisite handmade wallcoverings, translated Huang’s creation into bespoke wallpaper, using its unique bas-relief technique. The method involves the use of rising temperature-responsive paint to capture the evolution of Yan Yan. 

The relief texture is then gilded with metallic tones and subtly tarnished. Hand-painted elements rooted in Chinese symbolism adorn the wallpaper as a final touch, creating the sense of a scene emerging from an abstract design.

The exhibit at The Middle House transforms curved walls into an immersive canvas, inviting visitors into a cosmic dialogue with Yan Yan. 

Complementing the bespoke wallpaper are Huang’s artworks: pieces inspired by Guangdong’s Lion Dance and traditional Chinese crafts—ramie fiber, paper-cutting, weaving, and innovative embroidery—as well as the extended artwork, The Entrophy Reduction of Hundun.

Shining new light on the art of Chinese wallpaper, the exhibit is a testament to the possibilities of craftsmanship, technology, and cultural legacy. It’s tradition reinterpreted within the creative vision of a young artist.