Curators:André Chan and Chin-Yin Chong
Ting-Tong Chang used graffiti as a creative medium early in his career, often employing humour to satirize social issues. During his stay in Europe after completing studies in the United Kingdom, he explored various mediums and interdisciplinary collaborations, ranging from text and painting to installations incorporating elements of sound, light, and electronics. He even ventured into experimental and performative projects, gradually developing a distinctive creative approach. In recent years, he has been involved in collaborative works, creating site-specific performances and installations. At the same time, he has led different large-scale moving image and interactive projects, integrating diverse fields of knowledge. His works utilize a variety of materials extensively, expressing the media fluidity in the post-medium age of contemporary art.
"Little Hell" serves as Ting-Tong Chang's inaugural solo exhibition at Each Modern. The exhibition will showcase a more intimate and personal side of the artist's work, in addition to his involvement in recent large-scale interdisciplinary projects. Featuring the centerpiece 'Little Hell', the series of works focuses on tapestries, which since the Middle Ages have been luxurious and intricately crafted art forms in interior decoration, rivaling the status of paintings. The series inherits multiple elements of Chang's creative DNA, utilizing various locally found materials for artistic creation.
Silk has been a noble textile material since ancient times, and in the 20th century, various synthetic fibres aimed to imitate the property of silk in order to popularize it. During World War II, the difficulties in producing silk in Asia led to the replacement of various natural materials by nylon fibres. After the war, Taiwan built up textile production as a means to establish its economic foundation. By the 1970s, the textile industry had become a major pillar of the economy. However, in the 1990s, the industry collapsed due to various geopolitical factors, and the production volume is now only a small fraction of its former years. In the tapestry works, the artist deliberately uses Taiwan-made synthetic fibre fabrics as the base material, symbolically replacing traditional materials with synthetic ones, aligning with the consumption patterns and contexts of the 21st century.
The series of tapestries takes found images and motifs from different cultures as its starting point and is layered with personal ideas through DIY crafts and decorated with numerous metal knickknacks. Some are actual clothing accessories, while others are only imitations of practical objects like stationary pins. The sewing machine and needle become the artist's brushes, embroidering intricate and eye-catching patterns on the fabric through embroidery techniques. Even with the assistance of modern machines, the production of tapestries still requires as much labor as it did hundreds of years ago, creating a strong contrast between the high demand for craftsmanship and the virtual digitization of contemporary society.
By piecing together various materials, appropriating and sampling; incorporating metal accessories and DIY techniques, the artist's approach is actually closer to the spirit and methodologies of punk subculture. It samples from mainstream culture but rebels against and critiques through reconstruction, challenging the refined traditions of art with bold, individualistic means. For the artist, these elements and techniques draw parallel with his other three-dimensional works, while also echoing his early graffiti creations that utilised found images, resulting in highly stylized work.
"Little Hell" exhibition candidly presents the artist's aesthetic of creation, interweaving humour, satire, and introspective musings. Recurring elements in the artworks, such as eyes, skulls, bones, and wings, have been consistent motifs in Chang's oeuvre. Organic and inorganic materials, soft fabrics and metal objects, cuteness and ugliness, nobility and vulgarity, independence and collaboration, all intertwined. Behind the ironic disguises, one can catch a glimpse into the artist's creative trajectory, incorporating intricate layers of messages and novel creative direction.
Press release courtesy Each Modern.
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