Jacky Tsai: Unity in Diversity, Seoul
Museum Wave, Seoul

11th Jul 2023

Museum Wave, Seoul · 2023

Unity in Diversity was Jacky Tsai’s first solo museum exhibition in South Korea. Bringing together seventeen works, the presentation connected paintings and screenprints with porcelain, lacquer carving, embroidery and hand-stitched leather sculpture. Across this range of materials, the exhibition asked how seemingly different images, traditions and experiences could form a coherent artistic world.

One Visual Language, Different Materials

The title describes a method as much as a theme. A familiar motif changes when it is painted, carved, stitched or given sculptural volume. Colour, surface and scale alter the experience of the image, while the underlying relationships between nature, cultural memory and popular imagery remain recognisable.

Moving through the galleries, viewers could encounter these connections through both the overall installation and the detail of an individual work. A flat image and a physical object offered different points of entry into the same evolving practice.

The Floral Skull: Between Mortality and Renewal

Tsai’s skull imagery gives this continuity a recurring form. Flowers and foliage assemble into a symbol of mortality, holding growth and decay within a single image. The floral skull invites a shift in perception: what first appears unsettling can also become intricate, generous and alive.

The exhibition’s movement between printed, painted and crafted surfaces made that transformation tangible. It encouraged visitors to look beyond the immediately recognisable silhouette and discover the forms from which it was composed.

Connection in an Unsettled World

Recent works brought the experience of the pandemic and its aftermath into this cross-cultural conversation. Isolation, uncertainty and disrupted routines complicated the familiar promise of a connected world. Through surreal encounters and densely layered imagery, Tsai reflected on belonging and on the possibility of renewal.

Unity in Diversity brought these concerns together without reducing them to a single answer. Its coherence came from the dialogue between materials and stories: differences could remain visible while contributing to a shared visual language.

Exhibition announcement and installation views