Nude Jade Pierced
Vol.3 Brutal States
“Piercing” for jade seems to be a dialogue with a piece of jade in the coldest way. But when I used the word “dialogue”, I suddenly realized that I had regarded the stone jade as human in my mind. The visual stimuli presented by this series of works brought me painmade me feel painful, as if what is being pierced those body nailspiercings pierced and penetrated is not jade but a flesh and bone. The jade in front of me is no longer just a beautiful, uninterrupted stone, but has been given a new definition and a new potential.
- Xiao Liang, Gallerist
on Tai’s solo exhibition Nude Jade Pierced at The Closer Gallery, Beijing
> Fruit-Teabag, Galerie Beyond
Cruising In The Wilderness
Phoebe zhennan wood, dyed and sealed with oil. Surgical stainless steel, Nylon thread, Oxidized silver, Rubber
“June is Pride month in Chicago, so to celebrate we're thrilled to be hosting the inaugural installation of Tender Presence, a traveling exhibition of queer artists who instill, exemplify, or resist the softer side of interactions. Through material research, this collective reflects a multitude of processes, objects, and ideas. The mark of each maker’s hand presents an individual interpretation of tenderness.”
- Exhibition Tender Presence at Gallery 2052, Chicago
Third Lotus Prince in Outer Space
About ‘Third Lotus Prince in Outer Space’
The Third Lotus Prince is a mythological deity that has the body of a lotus and who fights dragons in search of a new body. This quest for a new identity leads them into acts of rebellion and sacrifice, often at odds with the reigning rules and regulations in society-at-large. Floating somewhere in between the physical and cybernetic domain, this collection of contemporary adornments visualizes and materializes the magical weaponry of the Third Lotus Prince from a queer-dominated perspective. By positioning the mythological God in an unapologetically queer hyperstitional reality, Hansel creates room for an alternative interpretation of notions surrounding identity, sexuality and power. With this timely interpretation of a century-old myth, Hansel challenges us to further explore and interrogate our banal conceptions of life in the past, present, and the apocalyptic future.
Fagatopia
“Hansel Tai is on a quest to expand queer aesthetics taking visual cues from various nations’ military insignia systems. He is intrigued by the logic behind their designs – such as three stars, four stars – and attempts to create a new alternative power system dynamic.”
Eden of the East
