Szu-Wei Ho “Beginning”
Gallery 456 in Chinese-American Arts Council
This event has ended.
Chinese American Arts Council / Gallery 456 presents Beginning, the second solo exhibition of Taiwan-born Brooklyn-based artist Szu-Wei Ho in New York.
Everything seems to begin with the Robin’s egg. I created the previous Blue Egg series out of wonderment of nature’s beauty. The subject of “egg” has been an intrigue and keeps recurring in my recent works. However, instead of a sense of optimism, this new body of work questions the human conditions and the uncertainties of life.
Egg, the beginning of life, has been a symbol of birth and hope since ancient times. As for the vessel that produces the egg- the womb and the female, has mostly been a silent subject. At the place where I work, there was once a pet sun conure. She did not have a name, and her mate died from a dog bite years ago. While caged in day and night, she would lay eggs from time to time. Sun conure, a kind of parrot original to South America, is highly social and monogamous. Endangered in the wild, but popular as pet. This little bird, with no mate and no freedom, still responded to biological drive and depleted herself with egg production. I was overtaken by sadness. As a woman with a ticking biological clock, my response is best summarized as mocked sentimentality and a deluded sense of guilt. It is no surprise that sun conure became the protagonist in my drawings.
Meanwhile, I read some ecology news: groups of beached whales and dolphins died; ocean waste and micro plastic pollution; white rhino extinction; nuclear power plant issue and waste problem; air pollution all over the world…… Which all make me wonder: in the world that prioritizes development, is procreation justifiable? What kind of environment awaits the future generations? Looking out the window of my hometown, the smog-filled cityscape is a far cry from the blue sky of my childhood.
It is in this state of mind that the works start to form their shapes. Like a bird, quietly hatching its eggs. The eggs are sugar-coated in the name of “Nature” and “femininity”, with a sense of fairytale-like romance. Sugar dulls the taste buds and neutralizes life’s bitter absurdity. By blurring the real, I bring dreams into focus.
Szu-Wei Ho (b.1985 Taichung, Taiwan) graduated from National Taiwan Normal University with a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature and a minor in Fine Arts. She also holds an MFA degree in printmaking from Pratt Institute, NY. Szu-Wei now lives and works in Brooklyn.
Media
Schedule
from May 17, 2019 to June 14, 2019
Opening Reception on 2019-05-17 from 18:00 to 20:00