Ta̍k-ke: A Tapestry of Togetherness -Huang Yi-Min Solo Exhibition

In recent years, Taiwan has garnered increasing international attention due to its geopolitical significance. Taiwanese artist Huang Yi-Min has translated the sensations of living on this island into his artistic creations. In his solo exhibition held at INSTINC in 2024, Huang Yi-Min propose the concept of "ta̍k-ke.” In Taiwanese, “ta̍k-ke” means “everybody” or “everyone.” It refers to a group of people as small as a family or a community as large as a school, a neighborhood, a county, a society, or even an entire country. This group of people might share the same lifestyles, the same ideologies, the same goals, or even the same fate. In a Taiwanese semantic context, “ta̍k-ke” often carries a sense of togetherness and an intimacy that reflects certain connections.

In the artworks, the concept of “ta̍k-ke” is envisioned by an assemblage of building blocks. The assemblage of blocks brings the imagery of “togetherness,” “assembly,” “the people,” and “community,” unleashing collective consciousness and personal feelings through various media, installations for spatial expression, and graphic creations. Although the building blocks point to a constructive imagery, they also hold a connotation of deconstruction. With these blocks as the basic elements, the exhibition renders everyday images incorporated through wrapping wooden materials around magazines of ordinary lifestyle and fashion. By entitling the exhibition “ta̍k-ke,” the exhibition incorporates a cordial vibe.

Huang Yi-Min’s artworks are often based on life and culture, where Huang, as a creator, projects his concerns and cares towards life and the lives of others. This series of artworks carries a sense of black humor behind the solemnity. Constructed from an assemblage of building blocks, “The Ark” (2024) takes the context of Christian salvation in its title, while adopting one of the most powerful warships– aircraft carrier as the main visual. Furthermore, the visual details have subtly insinuated the swallow-tailed ridge of traditional Taiwanese shrines in its design. With the final result of a childlike building block project, the art piece has certainly framed its black humor in satirizing the adult world with the innocent child’s play. The same sense of black humor can be found in “Five Blessings in a Row” (2024). Though the artwork in black does not take the form of building blocks in terms of medium and technique, the art piece still corresponds to the same “togetherness” of collective consciousness through a wirebound notebook. The undetectable stealth bomber, B-2 Spirit, is combined with the imagery of bats (homophonous with “blessing” in Chinese), together creating the implication of the “five blessings” ─ longevity, prosperity, superiority, security with joy, and fertility. Here in the exhibition, Hwang’s works contain profound meanings, yet offer solace in life, release and cleanse the public anxiety of certain collective memories, and replace them with a zealous form of blessing through “ta̍k-ke.”

Venue: INSTINC Space, 39 Keppel Rd, #03-10 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065
Opening Reception: 05 July 2024 (Wed.) 6PM–8:30PM

Exhibition Duration: 05 July to 21 July 2024 (Wed-Fri, 1PM-7PM. Sat - Sun, 1PM-6PM)

Artist Talk: 13 July 2024, 2PM-4PM at the venue

About Artist

Huang Yi-Min

The owner of "Absolute Space for the Arts" in Tainan. Early works often used inflatable balloon dogs to place various poses in the environment, showing collage, irrational, and absurd qualities like those in surreal works, and showing laziness against the bustling and fast pace of life around them. It has a light feel and exudes a touch of "humor". In 2013, he jointly established the Absolute Space Art Studio in Tainan, providing outstanding contemporary creators with the opportunity to express their voices in Tainan. Based on the temple culture experienced by living in Tainan for a long time, they will collect, research, and use their imagination to explore the temple culture they have heard about.

Website: https://tcaaarchive.org/artist/33423/

About Absolute Space for the Arts

Located in Tainan City, "Absolute Space for the Arts" was established in 2013 with the aim of promoting contemporary art and local culture. By combining fieldwork with research on Tainan culture, it organizes contemporary art exhibitions and projects, as well as artist lectures, workshops, domestic and international forums, "ASA Hornsun" art criticism award, "Art Criticism Hall" art criticism workshops, and "Coming to My Space─International Communication in Artists' Studio" project to cultivate diverse activities and practices. In terms of international exchanges, Absolute Space not only collaborates with art institutions in Asian regions such as Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong but also established "Absolute Space AIR " in 2024 to deepen the relationship between space, the community, and the city.

Website: https://absoluteart.space/8338679

Website: https://absoluteartspace.wixsite.com/absolute-art-space

About INSTINC

Founded in 2004 by artist Yeo Shih Yun, INSTINC is a leading artist-run institution based in Singapore. With a distinguished presence in the arts ecosystem, INSTINC diligently sustains the growth of contemporary art through exhibitions, residency programs and curations. Their esteemed

Artist-in-Residence program has cultivated invaluable regional and international networks since 2009. INSTINC is celebrated for producing immersive, large-scale exhibitions that encompass installation, new media, performance, painting and sculpture, showcasing the diverse range of artistic expressions.

Notable collaborations include partnerships with renowned brands such as Volvo and Guinness, further demonstrating INSTINC's commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary exchanges. Moreover, INSTINC takes immense pride in organising the highly anticipated INSTINC D:Art Festival 2022, generously supported by UOB Bank and the NAC start fund.

INSTINC continues to foster creative individuals and collective practitioners by establishing a platform for cross-disciplinary exchanges with their relocation in Tanjong Pagar Distripark. With expertise in exhibition curation, commissioned works and brand alliances, INSTINC endeavours as a vital presence in the cultivation of contemporary art.

Website: https://www.instinc.com/

Instagram: @instinc_space

Host or Publisher INSTINC Art space