Chain

Tansiyu Chen

Welcome to the opening on Friday the 22 of March, 17.00-20.00h.

“Chain” is the pronunciation of my surname, and my constant artistic topic of life without freedom. I use the term to capture the complex experiences of being a Chinese woman. Obstacles and discrimination have always been part of our lives. Rather than facing them head-on, we often find ourselves adorning these problems, creating the illusion that they no longer affect us.

From chain-shaped sculptures made with vegetables and ice, performance of spontaneous ink painting from a melting ice chain, to installations and paintings of invisible restrictions, what should I do with those ubiquitous chains?

Tansiyu Chen is a visual artist based in Oslo, Norway. Her artworks involve diverse forms and materials, with a focus on life experiences from individuals coming from a totalitarian country, where lifestories have always been hidden behind censorship and propagandas. She often employs symbols and metaphors, merging them with diverse materials and comical narratives, reflecting the forced silence from her homeland, which brought her a complex of fear, rebellion and determination, seeking a visual storytelling without words.