INTIMATE WHISPERS, running at SPLIT Gallery in London from 10 to 16 September 2024, explores the profound connection between artists' personal experiences and the intimate spaces that embody family culture. The exhibition features work by emerging artists Mengqi Xia, Xiaofan Li, Ying Luo, Zhenzhen Tian, Kangying Lou, and Jun Mei, showcasing a wide range of mediums – including textiles, painting, photography, and acrylic printing – that offer in- depth interpretations of the theme of family. The gallery is located within East London’s vibrant arts district, known for its rich cultural history, and is incredibly close to the Young V&A museum.
The exhibition focuses on familiar domestic spaces – bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens – that hold personal memories of daily life and routine. As artists move to London, their connection to domestic culture becomes distant, bringing forth the ambivalence of living in two societal spheres. Through this lens, INTIMATE WHISPERS examines the transformation of these intimate, female-centred spaces into public, communal ones, revealing the emotional resonance that unfolds as these spaces are reimagined.
Artists Mengqi Xia, Xiaofan Li, and Ying Luo transform personal memories into tactile experiences through textiles, evoking the textures and colours of domestic life. By transferring textile materials from the home into the exhibition space, they create resonances of family and social conventions, inviting viewers to enter a reconstructed domestic environment and reflect on their own memories and familial connections.
Among the works featured is Fading with Time, Healing With Time by Mengqi Xia, inspired by the artist’s homesickness and longing for her mother’s cooking when moving away from her hometown. Xia used natural dyes from vegetables such as beetroot, spinach, avocado, and purple cabbage to create wool fibres and then knitted them into rolls, which will naturally fade over time. The repetitive process of creating this work was cathartic, slowly healing her connection to home.
In her textile work, Ying Luo uses undyed paper yarn and seahorse hair yarn to imitate the natural colours and textures of palm trees. The artist creates the flowing effect of vines and green ribbons with these organic materials,
reminiscent of the vitality and harmony found in nature. This piece also invites the audience to reflect on the intrinsic connections between daily life and the natural world.
The work of Xiaofan Li ‘Talking’ To Old Things focuses on the connection between objects and their restoration, as well as the complex emotions that can arise during this process. By gathering and dissecting discarded objects from around the world, Li examines the histories and emotions embedded in these items over time. Writing letters to these objects allows the artist to explore their past and reveal meanings that transcend language. Through inventive combinations of reclaimed fabrics and architectural remnants, Li invites the viewers to engage with these personal narratives, presenting a dialogue between memory and material.
Zhenzhen Tian's acrylic on canvas work Light of the Dreamscape brings a more surreal dimension to the exhibition, intertwining reality with fantasy. Through elements like a bed, skeleton, swan, and faint candlelight, the artist creates a dreamlike scene which symbolises a journey into the subconscious. The swan, representing delicate vitality, stands in stark contrast to the coldness of the skeleton, while the dim candlelight suggests fragile hope or fleeting moments of lucidity within the dark dream. This scene reflects Tian’s emotional state – a balance of freedom and fragility – and hints at the untouched, primal emotions and memories buried in the depths of the subconscious.
Kangying Lou’s Playful Introspection finds solace within the traditional tea ceremony, offering a moment of balance between social interaction and self-reflection. In an era of information overload, the artist turns inward, using the Zen ritual of tea to seek inner peace and harmony, reflecting the tension between modern society’s demands and the pursuit of introspection.
Maggie Meijun captures the state of everyday life through photography by preserving fleeting moments. Symbolising life, the floating pink sports bra creates a silent dialogue with its still outdoor environment.
The exhibition attracted a range of art connoisseurs and residents from East London to SPLIT Gallery. As a group exhibition of Chinese artists, it drew in curious residents from the community. INTIMATE WHISPERS reflects SPLIT Gallery's commitment to cultivating emerging artists and providing them opportunities to explore in a comfortable space.
Exhibition title: 'INTIMATE WHISPERS'
Exhibition dates: 10 September - 16 September 2024
Exhibition venue: SPLIT Gallery, 62 Roman Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 0PG
Participating artists: Kangying Lou, Maggie Meijun, Mengqi Xia, Xiaofan Li, Ying Luo, Zhenzhen Tian
Faithe Yang, based in London, captures human inner worlds and emotions within contemporary view. Her Dream White series dives into dreams' unsettling void and desolation, where silent spaces reflect subconscious anxieties and endless life cycles. In Life, she explores the deep connections between plants and human emotions. Sub-series like Life - Reproduction, Life - Silence, and Life - Extinction parallel plants' growth, decay, and renewal with human relationships, symbolizing continuity, disillusionment, and rebirth. Through these evocative images, Yang invites viewers to reflect on the quiet, infinite cycles that shape our lives.
As curator, Faithe Yang's curatorial practice explores the connection between the human spirit and body through psychoanalytic theory, focusing on emerging artists and emotional bonds. She integrates art healing to promote emotional well-being, using non-traditional spaces that reflect local contexts. Her approach creates a dynamic dialogue between art, space, and environment, enhancing the impact and healing potential of the artwork.
Exhibition press release date: 28 September 2024
