"Hsieh's radical engagement with time through his durational performances resonated deeply as a larger framework for understanding resilience in challenging contexts," says Teng Yen Hui, curator and manager of collections at SAM. Hsieh's projects, which started when he confined himself to a cell in his apartment for an entire year, find reflection in the exhibition's focus on the profound meaning embedded in the mundane, particularly as a response to adversity or systemic struggles.
"Each block's tiny, encased figure symbolises his personal history of imprisonment for political opposition, and also the collective struggles that citizens of Myanmar face under political oppression," says Teng. The artist was a political prisoner from 1998 to 2004 and again in 2022, and the soap he carved while incarcerated becomes a poignant reminder of the struggle for freedom and resilience.
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