Gentle Monuments: Chen Wei, Cui Jie, Yasmine Anlan Huang, Nabuqi, Guo-Liang Tan, Zhang Ruyi

Monuments are structures created to honor significant moments or individuals in history. Grand in scale, they symbolize the enduring weight of time and history. Firmly and quietly, monuments observe the growth of cities and the passage of generations. Made from durable materials such as stone, bronze, and concrete, permanence is solidly embedded in their material and form. As artists turn to textiles and pliable materials to create objects that are adaptable and open to transformation in this exhibition, their fragility, exposed seams and softness invite repair and continued negotiation. What results is a process of commemoration, history, memory and valuation that is continuously reinterpreted.

“Gentle Monuments” embodies a tension that could be described as monumental yet gentle. While minimal in scale, it casts a glance at personal and collective histories, urbanization and the built environment, transformation and appropriation. It probes us to consider who or what is typically depicted by monuments, and why some stories are valued over others.