YOU Yang, «My grandma's coat», 2021.9.27, jacket in a plastic vacuum bag
This leather jacket belonged to my Grandma. It was manufactured by Shanghai Xinmei garment factory. After the founding of the PRC, to help develop the inland regions, my Grandma and Grandpa moved from Harbin to Lanzhou, an inland city in Northwest China. They brought their newborn baby girl, my mom, along with them. The couple, with many of their comrades, built factories from scratch, worked and lived there for the most of their lives.
The reform and opening in the late 1980s and 1990s brought better quality of life to these hard- working citizens. When they got chance to visit big cities like Shanghai, they made the most of such infrequent opportunities, and brought back souvenirs, such as fancy clothes and novelty products to their families.
This jacket was one of those things Grandpa bought for Grandma during his business trip to Shanghai. This mid-length jacket cost a whole lot of money out of the household expenses. Back in that time, people tend to remember the price of each clothes they bought, sometimes even where and how they bought it. For me, I don’t quite remember how I bought most of my clothes. But this one was an exception. It was a Chinese New Year, I went back to my Grandma’s for holiday. I asked Grandma for this jacket, not because it’s a stylish piece, but rather as a precious item that I’d like to own. Little did I imagine that only a few year later, it became a keepsake of my Grandma.
As I’m turning 40 soon, my sense of identity has been shaking. The parents of my Grandpa and Grandma migrated to Northeast China. Grandpa and Grandma moved to Northwest China to construct the country. Later, my parents left Lanzhou, “jumped on the bandwagon” of doing business in South China and went abroad. As for me, I also chose to leave my family and live by myself in Shanghai. As the ties between me and my family became loosened, I felt confused about who I am, and where i came from.
I thought I had all the time in the world after I graduated from college. However, life withers faster than I thought. I didn’t even had chance to show Grandma the new chapter of my life as an independent adult before she passed away.
That was when I started to trace back the life of my family members. I do whatever I can to get to know and explore what they have experienced.
This “Xinmei” leather jacket was originally from Shanghai. It once connected me and my Grandma. Through this work, I hope Grandma, me and this city can somehow get reconnected.