The Hayward Gallery, in partnership with the RC Foundation, Taiwan (R.O.C.), will present Huang Po-Chih: Waves (9th Oct 2024 – 5th Jan 2025), a multidisciplinary exhibition from Taiwanese artist Huang Po-Chih imaginatively reflecting on the socio-political impacts of the globalised garment industries in East Asia.
Nominated for the HUGO BOSS Asia Arts Award in 2015, and recipient of the Prudential Eye Awards in 2016, Huang Po-Chih’s work has been widely shown across the globe. Waves will be the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK, and the second exhibition in the RC Foundation Project Space Exhibition Series at the Hayward Gallery, showcasing the next generation of emerging international artists.
Huang Po-Chih, says:
The title Waves came from a conversation I had with Mrs. Kim, a garment factory worker from Korea, in which she said, “I am hiding from the rain yet drenched in sweat, trying on all those dreams in different sizes. And I sincerely believe that just like the spectacle of 500 tons of smuggled garments falling into the sea, one of the dreams will eventually be washed ashore”. I replied, “Fragmented dreams are being stitched into someone’s daily life in a faraway land, becoming waves of speechlessness”. This exhibition is a mini-conclusion and the beginning of a new chapter of my long-term project Production Line.
Featuring new video and text-based work as part of a presentation of installation, photography and sculpture, the exhibition draws upon the artist’s family heritage – particularly his mother’s experiences as a garment worker in Northern Taiwan. Po-Chih collates the personal narratives of individuals involved in the garment industry across China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan from the 1960’s up to the present day.
Each anecdote takes place against a backdrop of migration and global trade. With circulating themes and narratives across the work, a sense of fluidity serves as a metaphor for the turbulent conditions faced by the generally low-paid workers in the East Asian textile industry.
Yung Ma, Senior Curator of the Hayward Gallery, says:
Huang Po-Chih brings warmth, humanity and empathy in his reflections on the ebbs and flows of the East Asian garment industry. He gives voice to otherwise overlooked individuals whilst shedding light on an undercurrent that has propelled the acceleration of industrial and market globalisation. With the invaluable support from Taiwan’s RC Foundation, I am delighted that we can share Huang’s singular vision with audiences in London. This exhibition further demonstrates the Hayward Gallery and Southbank Centre’s commitment to champion unique and remarkable creative practices from around the world.
The Hayward Gallery’s HENI Project Space has presented free exhibitions from a wide-ranging group of innovative international artists since 2007, offering new cultural experiences to audiences. Previous artists who have exhibited in the space include Heecheon Kim, Amol K Patil, Thabiso Sekgala, Kate Cooper and Hicham Berrada. The RC Foundation Project Space Exhibition Series makes up an important part of the Southbank Centre’s commitment to maintaining 40% of its programming as free to all.
Huang Po-Chih: Waves is curated by Hayward Gallery Assistant Curator, Katie Guggenheim, and Curatorial Assistant, Hannah Martin.
Huang Po-Chih: Waves, 9th Oct 2024 – 5th Jan 2025 Hayward Gallery, HENI Project Space
Additional support provided by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan (R.O.C.).
About
Huang Po-Chih was born in Taoyuan, Taiwan in 1980, and graduated from Taipei National University of the Arts in 2011. In his multi-disciplinary practice, Huang explores the contemporary mechanisms of production and consumption. Adopting the position of a family member, agricultural producer or entrepreneur, he acts as participant and critic of the socio-economic systems in which he operates. Huang’s work reveals the macroscopic backdrop of trade and exchange that forms the conditions of his art practice. This reflexive awareness extends to his careful consideration of the possibilities and resources available to him as an artist in order to intervene collaboratively in economic structures, and so his projects take on an enduring social significance.
Founded in 1995 by Rong Chuan Chen, RC Foundation has been a visionary force in promoting Taiwanese contemporary art on the global stage. An active champion in fostering cultural and artistic exchanges, RC Foundation has been supporting artists, curators and independent art spaces from Taiwan through grants and partnerships, both locally and internationally. These long-term relationships have nurtured and enriched numerous artistic projects from different perspectives, generating invaluable connections between Taiwan’s contemporary art practitioners and their global counterparts.
