EXP series 2: 光,HIKARI by Josiah Chua | Monarch by Bradley Foisset

EXP is envisioned as a new annual series within the Chan + Hori exhibition calendar to encourage innovation in the context of the contemporary arts and cultural practice. Promoting engagement, openness and new ways of understanding, it reflects intersections between art, society and everyday life.

Josiah Chua will showcase his 2018 capsule collection titled光, HIKARI (‘light’ in Japanese). It is inspired by the Sailor Moon anime series and presents itself in the form of holographic fabrics and structural dresses with graphic shapes. It references the specific transformation sequence when the Japanese schoolgirl character magically morphs into her soldier alter-ego in a burst of iridescent colour and light. The element of light used in Sailor Moon is the main subject Josiah explored for the collection – a source of inspiration for the materials and the metaphoric qualities it represents such as friendship, justice and love.

Bradley Foisset explores the idea of transformation and its possibilities, relating to historical records of moon exploration and Hollywood. He is interested in the transformation of ordinary objects into catalysts that bring about abundance, love and protection. By creating monuments or talismans, artists can manipulate objects and materials to confer power upon them - through prayer, anointing, inscribing and so forth. Bradley aims to channel meanings through object and material interference in a similar kind of alchemy, bringing components together to form more than the sum of their parts. Touching upon myth, objects, magic, histories and superstition to contemplate the possibilities of transformation, he has applied materials to his works as an act of challenging cultural authority and historical understanding.

Both individuals address how transformation can manifest through visual and aesthetic presentation. In the roles of fashion designer and artist, a function of their labour is to create works and objects that communicate meaning and ideas beyond what their actual forms suggest. They thus imbue materials with inherent power and symbolism, calling forth emotions and desires.