Spinning East Asia Series I: A Compass in Hand
Exhibition at CHAT, Centre of Heritage Art and Textile, HK
27.11.2021 – 27.02.2022

Spinning East Asia Series I: A Compass in Hand is an ambitious group exhibition of 15 prominent individuals and collectives of artists-designers engaging with the notion of ‘East Asia’.

The first chapter in a series of two, A Compass in Hand seeks to address how the historical, social and ideological landscapes of East Asia are accepted and shaped by various individual and collective forces through the lens of design and textile. Prepare to reimagine and revisit the complex and contested notion of ‘East Asia’ through an array of interactive, newly commissioned and typographic works by artists and designers such as, Ahn Sangsoo/ Choi Moonkyung/ Park Chanshin, BCXSY, Adonian Chan/ Julius Hui/ Chris Tsui, Hugh Davies, Guo Cheng, Hou I-Ting, Iguchi Kota/ Mieno Ryu/ Nakata Takuma, Kim Hwang, Lau Chi Chung, Li Zhiqian/ Liu Yi, Lu Yang/ Takahashi Naotaka, Nagashima Rikako, Spatial Anatomy, Wang Zhi-Hong and Alice Wong.  

In modern times, East Asia has navigated through waves of geopolitical, economic and cultural crises, both internal and external, with countries and territories in the area simultaneously tested by the challenges of globalisation and multilateral relations. Shared among its people groups are knowledge systems and hard-learned lessons from history. Yet there are also paradoxical perception and deep-rooted antagonism mixed with interdependence and disdain that accompanied the establishment and collapse of cultural identities.

CHAT’s focus on textile and its cultural contexts offered an alternative entry point for our quest into and reimagination of the notion of ‘East Asia’. The materiality of textile, as well as its intricate connections with mankind in political, economic, social and cultural contexts throughout history, have provided leads and inspirations in the process of reconsidering, or spinning, and revisiting East Asia.

Titled A Compass in Hand, the first chapter of the Spinning East Asia Series sets out to navigate through, explore and articulate the entangled web of familiar yet alien, complex and constantly evolving social and cultural circumstances. 15 individuals and collectives of artist-designers embark on their research and creative journey, seeking to address how the historical, social and ideological landscapes of East Asia are accepted and shaped by individual cognition, formed as a result of the friction between various individual and collective forces. Here, textile as a method and idea is articulated through the study of ‘East Asia’ by exhibiting practitioners and presented through multiple forms such as materiality, technique and cultural meaning.

More information:

https://www.mill6chat.org/event/spinning-east-asia-series-i-a-compass-in-hand/

Press-Release:

CHAT/MILL6 Foundation
The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street
Tsuen Wan, N.T., Hong Kong
https://www.mill6chat.org/