Sun, Sweat, Skirt, Fan | Ho Rui An

In September 2018, Centre A presented "Sun, Sweat, Skirt, Fan", Singaporean artist Ho Rui An’s first solo exhibition in Canada. The exhibition featured two works: "Solar: A Meltdown" (2014-) and "Great Fans (Assortment)" (2018). "Solar: A Meltdown" is a performance lecture that begins in Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum, at the sweaty back of a wax figure of Dutch anthropologist Charles Le Roux, and from there navigates tropes of sweltering tropical heat and perspiration to examine the relationship between the Empire and the colonial subject. Drawing upon historical and fictional media, Ho looks at the establishment of an imperial global domestic—an all-encompassing, air-conditioned planetary interior—held together by the labour of those at the margins. Departing from the historical, Ho reflects upon an underclass of invisible workers in our current periphery, and the contemporary resonances of how colonial histories remain and inform how the world is structured. "Great Fans (Assortment)" is a new work that draws upon an inventory of what Ho describes as “tropicopolitan objects”. Centre A invited Ho and his work to Vancouver as a means to facilitate a broader consideration of the historical and ongoing impact of British colonialism on Asian bodies in both global and local contexts. This exhibition was accompanied by a performance lecture by the artist titled "Tropicopolitan Objects."