Ships Passing tour w/Hsi-Nong Huang
As one of the first reflections (from 2024) in 2025, I thought back to the summery day in Islington, London where I was able to visit Hsi-Nong Huang’s ‘Ships Passing’ solo exhibition. As a dear friend of mine, Hsi-Nong, also provided a relaxed tour explaining some of her thinking behind the development of her large-scale sculptural pieces and providing that extra bit of information to expand upon the accompanying written text “Routes to longing with Hsi-Nong Huang” by Cecilia Vilela.
As noted on the exhibition overview, ‘permanence and impermanence coexist. Some elements might last forever, and some for only a passing moment, as her minimalist forms move together and apart, defining what lasts and what does not’ (New Art Projects). From my perspective, interacting with Hsi-Nong’s work spanning sculpture, drawing and miniatures, creates a real sense and appreciation of how space can be used. And how the shaping of materials such as wood and metal, presents these ‘firm and solid’ materials, in a way that encourages repeated visual encounters while inviting physical interaction (Vilela, 2024). Hsi-Nong’s use of precision, where wood and metalwork are ensembled and meet, yet minuscule gaps remain . This leads me to reflect on relationships in the physical world. As Hsi-Nong talked me through the pieces, I thought to myself, can we, as extensions of material matter, still truly be connected even when we are ever so slightly apart? And if so, how does distance or space, interfere with or conversely motivate us to sustain those connections?
One of the highlights from this visit was my discussion with Gabriel — a Gallery Assistant at New Art Projects — who was working away near the front of the gallery. We had such a passionate conversation about the possibilities and limitations of sustaining one’s practice in the current ecosystem of the art world, with so many opportunities yet few doors to get your foot a hold of. This conversation (as with many) serves as a stark reminder of the precarious nature of the art world, particularly for those whose roles keep the art world moving, yet are under resources in many ways. I wonder, how many more of the same conversations do we need to be having with living artists and cultural workers until sustenance and adequate support become the norm for the arts and cultural sectors?
While this tangent is an ongoing thought for myself and many thinkers and cultural works (past and present), I would like to conclude on this experience and give Hsi-Nong one of her many flowers. Since meeting Hsi-Nong years ago at a studio in South London, I have seen her going from strength to strength. From curating group shows and simultaneously exhibiting her own work, to hearing about her experience on national and international residencies; I am moved by the way Hsi-Nong’s work speaks to both physical and abstracted space to negotiate relations between each other, our gestures and absence as well as materials, their precision, scale and finish by way of visual communication.
Hsi-Nong Huang is a Taiwanese artist who lives and works in London, UK. Hsi-Nong has exhibited across London and in China. Hsi-nong has also curated: Systems We Have, New Art Projects, London (2022) and co-curated: Testing Grounds, Filet, London (2022) with Rachel Mortlock, Janek Nixon and India Stanbra.
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