Lexar and Leica Present Threads of Time: A Journey Through Silk and Lens at Leica Gallery Amsterdam
Lexar and Leica Present Threads of Time: A Journey Through Silk and Lens at Leica Gallery Amsterdam
The exhibition follows Leica award-winning photographer Jing Huang as he documents young Suzhou kesi artist and custodian Hao Naiqiang (Jingwei), exploring how photography and storage preserve real craft, real presence and memories that cannot be recreated.
[AMSTERDAM, September 11th]— This September, Lexar and Leica will present Threads of Time: A Journey Through Silk and Lens at Leica Gallery Amsterdam, a photography exhibition documenting Suzhou kesi, a traditional Chinese silk weaving craft known for its highly detailed handmade process.
The project follows Jing Huang, a Leica award-winning photographer, as he documents the working process of Hao Naiqiang (known as Jingwei), a young kesi artist and custodian of Suzhou kesi craftsmanship. Through Huang’s lens, the exhibition captures the people, tools, textures, gestures and quiet discipline behind kesi, presenting it not simply as a heritage object, but as a living process shaped by hands, time and patience.
A Living Craft Shaped by Time
Suzhou kesi is one of the most intricate forms of traditional Chinese silk weaving. Unlike printed or embroidered textiles, kesi is created through a slow handmade weaving process in which the artisan works thread by thread to form delicate patterns, colours and textures. Each piece requires patience, precision and deep familiarity with the material.
For Jingwei, kesi is not only a technique, but a way of continuing cultural memory through daily practice. The craft exists not only in the completed silk artwork, but also in the repeated hand movements, tools, decisions and concentration that happen before the final piece is complete.
“What moves me most about kesi is its restraint,” said Jingwei, kesi artist. “It is not a free gesture. It is created within the order of warp and weft, built slowly through time, patience and the experience of the hand.”
Through Threads of Time, kesi is presented as a craft where time becomes visible — in the tension of silk threads, the rhythm of the hands, the relationship between the artisan and the material, and the quiet discipline embedded in each woven detail.
Photography as a Way of Seeing
To document Jingwei’s practice, Lexar and Leica invited Jing Huang, a photographer whose visual language is deeply influenced by painting, particularly Chinese ink painting and small-format compositions. Rather than approaching kesi as a straightforward documentary subject, Huang looks for stillness, restraint, balance and negative space within the craft.
His photography is less about explaining a heritage object and more about shaping a visual experience. Through his lens, the tools, threads, hands and studio details become part of a larger study of form, texture and time.
“For me, photography is not only about recording time,” said Jing Huang. “Sometimes it is about forgetting time. What stays in an image is not simply when or where it was taken, but whether it carries a sense of beauty that can still be felt beyond that moment.”
At a time when images can be generated instantly, this kind of photographic practice carries renewed meaning. It is not only about producing an image, but about being present with a real person, a real craft and a real moment. Through Huang’s photographs, Suzhou kesi is not imagined or recreated. It is observed, experienced and preserved as part of a visual record.
A Dialogue Between the Photographer’s Eye and the Artisan’s Hand
Presented at Leica Gallery Amsterdam, the exhibition brings together traditional craft, contemporary photography and the question of how visual memory travels across cultures.
“What makes this project meaningful is the dialogue between the photographer’s eye and the artisan’s hand,” said Linda Warmerdam, Manager and Curator, Leica Gallery Amsterdam. “Through photography, audiences can encounter Suzhou kesi not only as a heritage object, but as a living process shaped by time, patience and human presence.”
By placing kesi within a photography gallery context, Threads of Time invites audiences to look beyond the final artwork and spend time with the process behind it: the movements, materials and moments that are often invisible once a work is complete.
Why Lexar Is Part of This Story
Lexar’s role in the project begins with a simple idea: before a photograph becomes an exhibition print, a film still, a press image or a cultural archive, it first exists as an original file that needs to be safely preserved.
As a brand trusted by photographers, videographers and creators, Lexar has long supported the creative workflow from capture to archive. In Threads of Time, that role becomes part of a broader story about memory. Leica helps capture what is truly seen. Lexar helps preserve the original record behind it.
“Before an image becomes an exhibition print, a film still or a cultural archive, it first exists as an original file that needs to be protected,” said Grace Su, General Manager of Europe at Lexar. “Through this project, Lexar and Leica are exploring how real craft, real photography and reliable storage can work together to preserve moments that cannot be recreated.”
For Lexar, this project is not about defining the meaning of heritage, but about returning to the brand’s core purpose: helping people preserve moments, creations and memories that would otherwise exist only once.
Why It Matters to Consumers
The story of kesi may begin with a traditional craft, but its meaning extends beyond heritage. Not everyone creates a cultural artwork, but everyone has moments they do not want to lose — a family memory, a creative project, a journey, a milestone or a piece of work that exists only once.
In an age where images can be generated faster than ever, the value of a real captured moment becomes more important. A generated image can look similar, but it cannot replace the experience of being there. It cannot replace the person, the time, the emotion or the memory behind the image.
This is where the role of photography and storage becomes meaningful. Photography bears witness to what was truly seen. Storage protects the original record that allows people to return to it.
In this sense, Threads of Time is not only an exhibition about silk weaving. It is also a reflection on what photography and storage can still do uniquely well: preserve presence, carry memory and give real moments a future beyond the moment itself.
Exhibition Information
Exhibition:Threads of Time: A Journey Through Silk and Lens
Presented by: Lexar × Leica
Location: Leica Gallery Amsterdam
Opening Date: September 11, 2026
Featured Photographer: Jing Huang
Featured Kesi Artist: Hao Naiqiang (Jingwei)
Featured Craft: Suzhou kesi, traditional Chinese silk weaving craft
Guests will have access to exhibition visuals, insights into Jing Huang’s shooting process, and opportunities to connect with the project team, including Lexar, Leica and kesi artist Jingwei.