Chiharu Shiota's Webs Meet Yin Xiuzhen's Textiles
London's Hayward Gallery is currently hosting a striking exhibition that combines Chiharu Shiota's immersive web-like installations with Yin Xiuzhen's textile and clothing sculptures. The collaboration explores memory, identity, and interconnected histories — Shiota's monumental webs create physical and emotional entanglement while Yin's works draw on clothing's symbolism of human presence. The show is gaining attention for its visual impact and emotional resonance.
The Hayward Gallery's concurrent solo exhibitions, "Threads of Life" by Chiharu Shiota and "Heart to Heart" by Yin Xiuzhen, run until May 3, 2026. A single ticket provides access to both shows, which are curated by Yung Ma and designed to be experienced in succession, creating a dialogue between the two artists' distinct yet complementary practices. Shiota, a Berlin-based Japanese artist, envelops the gallery's upper floor with her signature thread installations. One notable piece, "During Sleep" (2026), features ten white hospital beds entangled in a dense web of black thread, a work that originated from her feelings of dislocation after moving to Germany. This installation will be activated with live performances on select dates during the exhibition's run. Another significant work by Shiota is "The Locked Room" (2016), where everyday objects and furniture are encased in intricate webs, appearing to suspend memory in time. Visitors can also participate in her installation "Letters of Thanks" by contributing their own letters, adding to a tapestry of shared gratitude woven into red strings. On the lower level, Yin Xiuzhen's "Heart to Heart" marks her first major solo survey in the UK, spanning three decades of her career. A key figure in contemporary Chinese art, Yin's work frequently responds to the rapid and often disorienting modernization of her native Beijing. A new commission, also titled "A Heart to Heart" (2025), is a monumental, interactive sculpture of a human heart made from donated clothing. Drawing on the Chinese philosophical concept of *Xin* (heart-mind), the piece invites visitors to enter and sit within the structure, creating a space for shared experience and reflection. Yin’s renowned "Portable Cities" series is presented on a mock airport luggage carousel, with miniature cityscapes crafted from local textiles packed into suitcases. Also on display is "Collective Subconscious (Blue)," a bisected minibus elongated and covered in a quilt of 400 pieces of clothing, which visitors can peer into.
