Chin Tsao

• 03.06.–15.07.2023

Galerie Martin Janda is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of Chin Tsao.

Chin Tsao's works encompass video, ceramics/porcelain, music, performance and creative writing. She explores the distinctive characteristics of different media and harnesses the inherent expressiveness of every one of them to evoke inexplicable perceptions and associations. In her projects, the diverse mediums are intertextual but also carry their own context, narration, and history.

Her past exhibitions have explored a range of themes, including the queer body, the anxieties and alienation that a technologically advanced future portends, and the exploitative power of a global economic system. Her creations embrace a sense of chaos and kitsch, jumping across historical eras while incorporating elements of Eastern and Western aesthetic forms. Each medium's historical context is integrated into the work, suggesting a subtext to the surface-layer narrative. These diverse elements coalesce into a chronicle that defies linear interpretation, opening up a space for free exploration and interpretation that allows viewers to engage with the artwork in a deeply personal and subjective manner.

Deliberately choosing mediums laden with a rich historical legacy, the body of works that are subject to the encounter between Asian and European cultures, as well as the evolving aesthetics of Eastern and Western craft styles. Flamboyant curved asymmetric ornamentation of Rococo and Art Deco; insects, fish, and flowers in Chinoiserie style coexist with hideous creatures, and totems, that inhabit a non-utopia full of political conflicts.

As for Chin Tsao's video works, The Land of Promise trilogy encompasses a diverse range of digital technologies to create a captivating visual experience. She incorporates elements such as shaky, low-quality footage captured with handheld cameras, composited special effects, and high-quality cameras that vividly and intensely portray the body and flesh. The use of different video styles and technologies adds layers of complexity and depth to the storytelling, creating a visually stimulating exploration of queer identities and the transformative potential of digital mediums.

In the current show at Galerie Martin Janda titled hustle, hustle, the artist adopts a micronarrative approach, delving into personal experiences to shed light on the corrupting effects of neoliberalism. The exhibition can be seen as notes on, or as fragments of, satirical lyric depicting the chaotic and unpredictable nature of our contemporary world and daily life in it. The ceramics with naturalistic flowers and birds in the Chinese artistic tradition and depictions of houses reminiscent of cave art or parietal wall paintings remain an important part of Tsao's oeuvre. By skillfully employing themes, images, and styles from various historical eras, the artist not only draws upon the micro-narratives of individuals, but also presents the depth of historical contexts in the medium and showcases a hybridization of styles within the context of globalization.

Text: Meiya Cheng