Shiota and Xiuzhen Collaborate at Hayward
London's Hayward Gallery features a new exhibition pairing Chiharu Shiota's intricate woven web installations with Yin Xiuzhen's textile and clothing sculptures. The collaboration explores themes of memory, identity, and connectedness through immersive environments. Critics praise the unique sensory and emotional resonance created by the dialogue between the two artists' works.
The exhibition at the Hayward Gallery consists of two concurrent solo shows: "Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life" and "Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart," running until May 3rd, 2026. The shows are curated by Hayward Gallery's senior curator, Yung Ma, and are part of the Southbank Centre's 75th-anniversary program. Berlin-based Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota envelops the gallery's upper level with her expansive installations. She is known for creating immersive environments by weaving thousands of interlaced wool threads, a process she describes as "drawing in space with thread." The exhibition includes new versions of major installations like "The Locked Room" (2016) and "During Sleep" (2002), which features performers interacting with the piece on select dates. Shiota's signature web-like structures often incorporate everyday objects such as beds, keys, and chairs to evoke concepts of memory, consciousness, and the fragility of existence. Her use of red and black threads is prominent, symbolizing the invisible emotional connections and ties between life and loss. This is her first major solo exhibition in a London public gallery. In the lower galleries, Yin Xiuzhen's "Heart to Heart" marks the first major survey of her work in the UK. A leading figure in Chinese contemporary art, Yin uses recycled materials, particularly secondhand clothing, to explore themes of globalization, memory, and cultural identity. Her work is heavily influenced by the rapid modernization she has witnessed in her native Beijing. A significant new commission for this exhibition is a giant, hollow human heart made from used fabrics, which visitors can enter for a moment of reflection. The show also features her well-known "Portable City" series, where sculptures of various cities are crafted from clothing collected from those locations and housed in suitcases. For this exhibition, a new piece, "Portable City: London," was created using clothes donated by Southbank Centre staff. Both artists share a sensibility of elevating personal perspectives to reflect on wider shared human experiences, though their artistic styles are distinct. The exhibitions are seen as a dialogue, united by the use of textiles and found objects to create powerful reflections on society and human existence.
