Twisting surprise and friendships into a future still spinning: a conversation between iris yirei hu and Shih Wei Chieh
Artists iris yirei hu (Los Angeles) and Shih Wei Chieh 施 惟 捷 (Taipei) will share how their process-driven creative and collaborative practices uplift surprise, rigorous play, and serendipitous encounters. Shih and hu met on the online platform Having Friends in the Future, founded by Shih, which aimed to create an international craft and e-textile commons, materials library, and swatchbook during the pandemic. Their work expands upon the definition of craft towards a more inclusive one that reaches into racial and environmental justice, citizen science, DIY technology, hactivism, and open source communities. They are interested in notions of "connection" and "commons" in embodied, experimental, and expansive ways, and hope to explore possibilities of "crafting life" in an open discussion with participants.
Zoom link to attend: https://otis.zoom.us/j/4866446744
This lecture is presented in conjunction with Los Angeles Textile Month 2021. For a full calendar schedule and for more information, please visit the Textile Arts Los Angeles website here.
iris yirei hu (b. 1991, Los Angeles, CA) earned her B.A. from UCLA and M.F.A. from Columbia University in the City of New York.
She has shown her work at the Plug-in ICA (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE), OxyArts at Occidental College, John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI), Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Women's Center for Creative Work, Human Resources, Lenfest Center for the Arts (New York, NY), and Visitor Welcome Center. She is currently in residence at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) through 2021.
Read these articles to learn more.
Shih Wei Chieh is a Taipei-based media artist and and founder of Tribe Against Machine.
His work has been shown at the National Craft Institute, the National Fine Art Museum, the Digital Art Center, and Nanhai Gallery in Taiwan, as well as international events TMC Berlin, Modern Body Festival, and YouFab Global Creative Awards.
Listen to his talk at NYU to learn more about the creation of Tribe Against Machine.
Images, left: iris yirei hu, installation view of exhibition hands of full blue, 2019; photograph by Josh Schaedel
Right: Shih Wei Chieh, I am Very Happy I Hope You are too, wearable e-textile, 2013, photograph by Taku Kazuya
iris yirei hu's website
Shih Wei Chieh's website
