Between Veils: An Atmosphere of Desire: EAST Design Show 2026

EAST Design Show 2026
Between Veils: An Atmosphere of Desire
Location: Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China
Dates: 18–21 March 2026

The Department of Architecture at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University presents Between Veils – An Atmosphere of Desire at the EAST Design Show 2026 in Guangzhou, curated by Sandro Rolla and Jingyang Liu, presenting works by Inès Consuela Essen and Jiashi (Jess) Yu. The exhibition situates architectural thinking within a broader design ecosystem, hosted by the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF), a global expo platform spanning over 850,000 square metres, with more than 380,000 audience. Within this expansive context, the project offers something quieter: a space to slow down, to look again, and to feel how design can shape not only objects but experience itself.
Conceived as a compact architectural experiment, the 6 × 6 meter installation transforms the exhibition booth into a layered field of perception. Semi-transparent textile veils define a sequence of soft thresholds, which allows visitors to move through shifting conditions of light, depth, and visibility. The space unfolds gradually rather than presenting itself all at once, inviting a slower and more attentive engagement. Suspended works appear as floating presences, partially visible, never fully fixed, this setup encourages visitors to perceive art objects, and meanwhile, the relationships between them, the filtered light, and the surrounding atmosphere.
The works presented extend across material experimentation, spatial narrative, and visual speculation. Essen’s practice explores “emptiness” as a cultural and spatial condition through natural-dyed textile installations, ceramic series, paper-cut compositions, and large-scale photography prints that merge craft, perception, and architectural thinking. Yu’s work, by contrast, engages speculative architectural futures through narrative drawing and collage, imagining transformed urban landscapes shaped by climate, memory, and fiction. Their works do not stand alone; they are placed in relation to one another, forming a quiet conversation across mediums and ideas.
At its core, Between Veils positions architecture as an active framework for organizing relationships, between art and design, between material and perception, and between body and space. In contrast to the scale and intensity of the surrounding fair, the installation proposes a quieter, atmospheric condition: one that invites visitors to slow down, move attentively, and rediscover the subtle interplay of light, material, and spatial experience.