formerly: Rubber Factory
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Sweet Water
Serena Chang
January 10 – February 15, 2025
island is pleased to present New York-based artist Serena Chang’s debut solo exhibition, sweet water.
The installation transforms the gallery into a hauntingly poetic sugarcane ghost forest. Constructed from sheer nude hosiery stretched across translucent plastic sheeting and steel rod armatures, the spectral sugarcane stalks emerge as semi-transparent, skeletal figures. Upon entering, viewers are enveloped in a richly layered narrative, where interconnected works weave together memory, labor, and lineage.
A collage of packaging molds and diaphanous hosiery forms the backdrop for a hypnotic video montage, its imagery flowing between the rhythmic motions of Taiwan’s hosiery factories and delicate sketches inspired by the artist’s father’s childhood memories. This visual journey is accompanied by a textured soundscape—a symphony of mechanical hums, insect calls, and whispers of nature—that blurs the boundaries between industry and intimacy. Nearby, a framed collage of fragile hosiery captures the ephemeral essence of memory and craftsmanship, merging materiality with familial connection to evoke a poignant memento of heritage. Anchoring the installation is a drawing of a sugarcane field, rooted in the father’s recollections, which grounds the space in personal and historical landscapes, offering a quiet homage to the bittersweet legacy of sugarcane cultivation and its intertwined stories of prosperity, struggle, and cultural identity.
words by Do Tuong Linh
Serena Chang (b. 1989, Queens, NY) received a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. She has given talks at Parsons School of Design, Bennington College, and was a recipient of the SMFA Traveling Fellowship. Her work has been exhibited at Vincom Center for Contemporary Art, VT; Pre-Cog Magazine; Art in General, NY; and Bonnington Center, UK. She co-founded Shisanwu LLC, a sculpture materials research and production studio in 2018 as well as the artist/curator collective Lunch Hour in 2023.
Do Tuong Linh is a curator, art researcher, writer based between Hanoi (Vietnam) and New York City (United States). Linh holds a BA in Art History and theoretical criticism from Vietnam University of Fine Arts and a MA in Contemporary Art and Art Theory of Asia and Africa at SOAS (University of London). UK with the prestigious Alphawood scholarship. She is a part of the Bard Curatorial Studies program class of 2025. Linh has engaged in various art exhibitions and projects in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Europe and beyond since 2005. She is a fellow researcher for Site and Space in Southeast Asia – a research project run by the Power Institute, University of Sydney, Australia funded by Getty Image Foundation, USA.
The installation transforms the gallery into a hauntingly poetic sugarcane ghost forest. Constructed from sheer nude hosiery stretched across translucent plastic sheeting and steel rod armatures, the spectral sugarcane stalks emerge as semi-transparent, skeletal figures. Upon entering, viewers are enveloped in a richly layered narrative, where interconnected works weave together memory, labor, and lineage.
A collage of packaging molds and diaphanous hosiery forms the backdrop for a hypnotic video montage, its imagery flowing between the rhythmic motions of Taiwan’s hosiery factories and delicate sketches inspired by the artist’s father’s childhood memories. This visual journey is accompanied by a textured soundscape—a symphony of mechanical hums, insect calls, and whispers of nature—that blurs the boundaries between industry and intimacy. Nearby, a framed collage of fragile hosiery captures the ephemeral essence of memory and craftsmanship, merging materiality with familial connection to evoke a poignant memento of heritage. Anchoring the installation is a drawing of a sugarcane field, rooted in the father’s recollections, which grounds the space in personal and historical landscapes, offering a quiet homage to the bittersweet legacy of sugarcane cultivation and its intertwined stories of prosperity, struggle, and cultural identity.
words by Do Tuong Linh
Do Tuong Linh is a curator, art researcher, writer based between Hanoi (Vietnam) and New York City (United States). Linh holds a BA in Art History and theoretical criticism from Vietnam University of Fine Arts and a MA in Contemporary Art and Art Theory of Asia and Africa at SOAS (University of London). UK with the prestigious Alphawood scholarship. She is a part of the Bard Curatorial Studies program class of 2025. Linh has engaged in various art exhibitions and projects in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Europe and beyond since 2005. She is a fellow researcher for Site and Space in Southeast Asia – a research project run by the Power Institute, University of Sydney, Australia funded by Getty Image Foundation, USA.