Suzhou Embroidery. Lu Jian-Ying Embroidery Studio
101.5 × 86 cm, 1990s
This piece is based on a famous painting by Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dalí. The scene features Dalí’s wife, Gala, her nude body floating weightlessly above a rocky ledge as she drifts into a deep, unguarded dream. Suspended beside her are two drops of water and a pomegranate—an object often associated with fertility and rebirth in Christian symbolism. From the left, a fish bursts from a second oversized pomegranate, its mouth releasing two snarling tigers and a bayonet, all seemingly poised to strike the sleeping figure in the next instant. The silk threads are layered to create smooth tonal shifts and painterly gradients, giving the surface a soft, almost oil-like texture.