Taiwanese artist Huang Po-Chih uses the personal narratives of workers to investigate globalised trade, with a focus on the textile industry in East Asia. Drawing upon his family heritage – particularly his mother’s experiences as a garment worker in Taoyuan, Taiwan – Huang engages with the personal narratives of individuals involved in the textile industry across China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.

The exhibition features new video and text-based work as part of a presentation of installation, photography and sculpture. Stories and anecdotes from the 1960s to the present day take place against a backdrop of migration and trade, and Huang addresses the role that his own artistic production plays within this system of global capitalism.

Throughout the work, narratives and themes circulate like the waves and ocean currents that transport people and materials via trade routes in the region and beyond. This sense of fluidity also serves as a metaphor for the turbulent conditions faced by the generally low-paid workers in the East Asian textile industry.

Nominated for the HUGO BOSS Asia Art Award in 2015, and recipient of the Prudential Eye Awards in 2016, Po-Chih’s work has been widely shown internationally. Huang Po-Chih: Waves is the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK.

Presented with support from the RC Foundation, Taiwan. Additional support provided by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan.

Image source : Southbank Centre (southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/huang-po-chih-waves/)