Homecoming gallery is presenting Chicago-born artist Mia Weiner in the Emerging Artists category at Paris Photo 2025, showcasing her latest work "You Will Be My Sun." The exhibition premieres a groundbreaking series of handwoven tapestries that marks a significant expansion of Weiner's artistic practice into themes of radical softness, care, and human connection.

The tapestries are rooted in the philosophical concept of weaving as both a material process and a powerful metaphor, carrying memory and tenderness into a contemporary world characterized by division and rapid pace. Weiner transforms photography-based compositions into intricate threads, creating predominantly monochromatic works punctuated by occasional color shifts and deliberate glitches that symbolize moments of intimacy, queerness, and resistance to social conformity.

These intentional interruptions function like woven code, inviting viewers to embrace openness while offering what Weiner describes as "a live rewriting of the social fabric." The works serve as a call to pay attention to the fundamental aspects of human presence and connection, challenging traditional boundaries between digital and tactile art forms.

Born in 1991 in Chicago and now based in Los Angeles, Mia Weiner has established herself as an artist who creates handwoven tapestries depicting intimate scenes that explore complex themes of identity, gender, and the psychology of human relationships. Her work directly responds to mythology and established traditions in portraiture, with photography-based compositions that deliberately center the human body as a means of exploring how figurative representation can embody power and agency.

Weiner's artistic research focuses particularly on historical representations of the human figure, with special attention to how female subjects have frequently been depicted as objects rather than autonomous beings. "I engage with the history of portraiture, using my body and choreographed models in my compositions," Weiner explains. "Body parts are removed, objects added, and color and contrast altered, complicating visibility, time, and place."

The transformation process from digital to physical art form is central to Weiner's methodology, as pixels are converted into threads, creating an equalized relationship between object and image where the digital becomes tangible. The predominantly monochromatic palette is strategically interrupted by color shifts and glitches that represent moments of intimacy and queerness, serving as visual metaphors for human connection and diversity.

"My work is about connection—between bodies and cloth as a place of shared experience," Weiner states, emphasizing the communal and therapeutic aspects of her artistic practice. This philosophy of connection extends beyond the physical materials to encompass broader themes of human relationships and social fabric.

Weiner brings impressive academic credentials to her work, holding a Master of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which she completed in 2020, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fiber from the Maryland Institute College of Art, earned in 2013. Her artistic achievements gained significant recognition in 2024 when she received the highly coveted Victoria and Albert Museum Parasol Prize.

Currently, Weiner's work continues to gain international exposure, with pieces in the collection of Kunstmuseum The Hague currently on display as part of the exhibition "I'll be Your Mirror." The Paris Photo 2025 presentation represents another important milestone in her emerging career, offering audiences an opportunity to experience her unique approach to combining traditional fiber arts with contemporary themes and digital-age sensibilities.