TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese artist Huang Po-chih (黃博志) will hold his first solo U.K. exhibition, “Waves,” exploring the damaging effects of the global textile industry at London’s Hayward Gallery from Oct. 9- Jan. 4.
Huang drew upon personal experiences such as his mother’s employment as a textile worker to explore the impact of the globalized textile trade on migration, politics, and economic development in East Asia.
Before the exhibition, Huang won international acclaim as an artist, including being shortlisted for the Hugo Boss Asian Art Award, and first prize in the installation art category of the British Prudential Eye Awards in 2016, per CNA.
Yung Ma (馬容元), senior curator of Hayward Gallery, said that Huang’s work reflects the historical ups and downs of East Asia’s garment industry and contains empathy for work that has been neglected and passed over in the accelerated push for industrialization. Ma said the exhibition displays the dangerous undercurrent of globalization.
“Waves” will include Huang’s prior works, such as “Production Line” and “Blue Skin: Mama’s Story,” with the exhibition tentatively scheduled to have a total of 15 works that tell the story of seven Asian garment industry workers through text, moving images, photography, and installations.
The work includes images of Huang’s mother in Taiwan, a woman surnamed Wu (吳) and her son at a textile factory in Shenzhen, the owner of a garment shop in Seoul, Korea, and a fabric stall owner in Hong Kong facing eviction at the hands of government authorities.
By juxtaposing the personal stories of workers in the East Asian textile industry, Huang exposes similar forces or waves that permeate their lives, such as rising and falling personal fortunes and ties to global commerce.
Huang’s solo exhibition is supported by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, which promotes international exchange for mid-career artists. The Hayward Gallery is not only an important venue for the development of British visual arts but has also exhibited Taiwanese artists such as Yuan Goang-ming (袁廣鳴) and Lai Chi-sheng (賴志盛).
Another Taiwanese artist, Michael Lin (林明弘), is currently also exhibiting at the Hayward Gallery, installing his work “macule,” a series of wallpaper prints in the museum cafe. Lin’s work has injected color and a subtle reference to Taiwan through the familiar plum blossom image into the museum for two years.