Howie Tsui’s first institutional solo show in Toronto is a partial continuation from the 2020 exhibition, From swelling shadows, we draw our bows. The exhibition features a variety of Tsui’s works, many addressing the artist’s experience growing up between Chinese and Colonial cultures: Hong Kong, Lagos, and Thunder Bay. Tsui’s works incorporate Hongkongese aesthetics and forms of Chinese modern and traditional art, particularly wuxia, to “examine the complexities of diasporic experience and question Chinese monoculturalism”.
Howie Tsui, Retainers of Anarchy, 2017, 5-channel algorithmic animation sequence, 6-channel audio, 11’1 x 79’ 4 in.
As soon as you walk into the exhibition, your attention is immediately drawn to Retainers of Anarchy (2017), a five-channel algorithmic animation spanning two full gallery walls. This animation is made of various hand-painted ink drawings, with a background inspired by the animated scroll River of Wisdom (2010). Instead of River of Wisdom’s idyllic marketplace setting, this work is placed in the Kowloon Walled City, a tenement in the fringes of British-occupied Hong Kong from 1898 to 1994, once considered the densest place on Earth and known by locals as the “city of darkness”. Besides its enormous scale, this work is detailed and complex, presenting various narratives simultaneously through its animation. With its juxtaposed inspiration and subject material, Tsui creates a dialogue between China’s Golden Age and current regime, characterized by civil unrest and oppression, especially in Hong Kong.
Howie Tsui, detail from Retainers of Anarchy, 2017, 5-channel algorithmic animation sequence, 6-channel audio, 11’1 x 79’ 4 in.
One of Tsui’s lightbox works, The peel, the bark, the tome (White Camel Mountain), incorporates tactile materials to allude to traditional practices. Here, the artist uses goat parchment to bring to mind the parchment used for sacred texts, ancient manuscripts, and war manuals. In particular, this references Nine Yin Manual, a fictional martial arts manual said to have been etched onto human skin. The work depicts a scene of human and animal-human figures, drawn in the wuxia style, a form of martial arts literature popular in 20th-century China. The brushstrokes, delicate and light, are reminiscent of traditional calligraphy. This artwork blends contemporary and historic Chinese styles to create a timeless, unique piece.
Howie Tsui, The peel, the bark, the tome (White Camel Mountain), 2019, acrylic ink on goat parchment in lightbox, 55 x 43.5 x 3 in. Courtesy the artist and Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto.
Other methods of experimentation Tsui uses are those of smoke staining, impression making, and automatic drawing techniques. These practices result in haunting, transient characters in A Geomantic Corridor, where the figures are said to “suggest persecuted and disappearing dissidents, haunting Hong Kong streets”.
Howie Tsui, A Geomantic Corridor, 2020, calligraphy ink, acrylic paint, xuan paper, matches, joss sticks, incense coils, bagua mirrors
Parallax Chambers (2018-ongoing), a single-channel animation, depicts characters from Retainers of Anarchy. In this work, unlike Retainers of Anarchy, the artist utilizes darker, bolder colours and a smaller frame, squeezing the action into one small channel. These effects, coupled with the intense, emotive depictions, create a more dramatic, unsettling narrative.
Howie Tsui, Parallax Chambers, 2018-ongoing, single-channel algorithmic animation sequence, audio, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist and Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto.
One of the artist’s lenticular prints, Three Greats, as well as Joyride and Winged Assassin, are painted in TV-esque shape, tone, and glow, influenced by his source material of martial arts movies. Like Parallax Chambers, each painting depicts characters found in various channels of Retainers of Anarchy. These scenes are captivating and dynamic, picturing their heroes in a variety of styles. The most colorful of the three, Three Greats is disconcerting and intense, inviting the viewer into a surreal, shadowy world.
Howie Tsui, Three Greats, 2018, lenticular print in lightbox, 25 x 25 x 2.5 in. Courtesy the artist and Patel Brown Gallery, Toronto.
From swelling shadows, we draw our bows invites the viewer to enter a world on the fringe of reality and imagination. Tsui’s ability to involve history, life experience, and imagination simultaneously through various medias, creates an intriguing exhibition at The Power Plant.
Howie Tsui, Retainers of Anarchy, 2017, 5-channel algorithmic animation sequence, 6-channel audio, 11’1 x 79’ 4 in.
Bronwen Cox
Images are courtesy of The Power Plant and Installation views: From swelling shadows, we draw our bows, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2020. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid.
*Exhibition information: Howie Tsui, From swelling shadows, we draw our bows, September 26, 2020 – Summer, 2021, The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay West Toronto.