FACT Liverpool launches new immersive exhibition for the summer

FACT launches summer exhibition My Garden, My Sanctuary: a collection of new, immersive artworks by Yaloo and Sian Fan – two artists using creative technology to tell stories of ancestry and self-discovery in a hyperconnected world. 

Presented by FACT’s 2022 Curator-in-Residence, Carrie Chan, My Garden, My Sanctuary will immerse visitors in playful, watery worlds.

From anime and K-pop, to lotus flowers and seaweed, artists Yaloo (South Korea) and Sian Fan (UK) weave commodified symbols of East-Asia throughout their work to reclaim their cultural identities, and remix their coming-of-age stories.

The new commissions will transform the galleries, taking shape as large-scale animated installations and interactive gaming environments.

Combining ancient Korean traditions and beliefs with family histories, Yaloo presents a mystical installation environment. Birthday Garden (2022) begins with a temple-like gateway, leading visitors into an underwater seaweed garden and giant, animated sheet mask.

Through an enlightening and reflective experience, the works explore the challenge of shaping self-identity and cultural stories against the commercial context of Korean culture within global media.

As part of FACT’s work around how young people craft and embody digital identities, Yaloo expands on the themes in her work to include young people’s views and critique of popular culture and social media. A series of conversations with members from the University of Liverpool’s K-pop Society, and a group of young people from Liverpool, will result in a K-pop inspired dance, public performance and a podcast documenting their creative process.

Credit: Drew Forsyth

Sian Fan combines imagery found in anime and fantasy video games with commercialised depictions of East-Asia. In her new commission Lotus Root (2022), Sian uses motion capture technology to record her movements, inspired by the characters from anime series Sailor Moon and video games Final Fantasy and Grandia. Surrounded by a sanctuary of lotus flowers and lily pads, the hyperreal avatars glitch in and out as they respond to audience interaction. The immersive installation challenges romanticised ideas of East-Asian culture and standards of femininity found in gaming and animation.

Established in 2019, FACT’s annual residency programme invites UK-based curators to develop their ideas and research into a major exhibition and public programme of events.

Credit: Rob Battersby

Carrie Chan, 2022 Curator-in-Residence at FACT, said:

“The exhibition has been curated to feel like a rite of passage: a journey where visitors encounter two artists whose works reflect on their own identities and cultural heritage within a technology-driven, alternative world. My residency at FACT has enabled me to explore diverse curatorial approaches in narrating stories on ancestry, identities and belonging, and has given me the opportunity to bring two acclaimed digital media artists to Liverpool – a city with a strong history of Asian immigrants and diaspora.”

My Garden, My Sanctuary forms part of Radical Ancestry, FACT’s current year-long programme.

Maitreyi Maheshwari, Head of Programme at FACT, said:

“From ‘alternative museums’ of artworks that question how science and technology have shaped our understanding of the past, to the ways in which the stories and songs we inherit help define key moments in our lives, the Radical Ancestry programme is an exploration of our changing sense of self. This exhibition continues our journey from the past into a present in which the artists playfully remix symbols from their familial heritage with pop cultural references, creating new possibilities and hybrid identities.

“Later this year, the programme will conclude with an exhibition that proposes alternative archives and worlds in which these new identities can exist. Carrie has introduced us to ambitious new artists whose outlooks and practices convey the energy and the difficulties in trying to forge a new way of being.”

My Garden, My Sanctuary will be on display at FACT from 21 July until 9 October, 2022 and will be accompanied by a public programme of family friendly events including food-based workshops, curator tours, a talk exploring stereotypes and representation in gaming, and artist performances.

Find out more info on the FACT Liverpool website here.