Body parts and Egyptian gods at Hong Kong fabric artist IV Chan’s weird-and-wonderful show
Chan’s textile pieces at her new exhibition at Hong Kong’s SC Gallery explore fertility and ‘a sort of transcendence’
One of the most talked-about works at the 2023 Art Basel Hong Kong fair was a giant plush installation depicting huge pieces of faeces oozing from a bunk bed.
This bizarre, unsettling, yet playful creation, called Poop Me To the Moon, tells you a great deal about the weird-and-wonderful world view of Hong Kong artist IV Chan Tsz-man.
A sculptor, performance artist, costume designer and more, Chan makes intensely personal pieces that blend dry humour with a defiant look at women’s relationships with their bodies in a way that sometimes recalls the fabric art of Louise Bourgeois and Yayoi Kusama.
At her studio in Fo Tan, an industrial area in Hong Kong with many artist workshops, Chan says the relationship between bodies and materials is a central component of her art.
“My work very much begins from my own body experience, as I usually start by playing with materials and letting my subconscious take the lead. I always end up portraying the perspective of either a child or a mother,” the 47-year-old says.
While Poop Me to the Moon recalls a child’s fear of soiling the bed and mixes dreams and disgust, Chan’s focus on the body and its functions has also led to explorations of womanhood and fertility.