Hayward Gallery’s latest exhibition Haegue Yang: Leap Year is both familiar and strangely unsettling. You enter via a curtain of bells, creating a melodic clanging that reverberates through the gallery. It’s the first clue that this exhibition isn’t just about viewing art; it’s about immersing yourself in it, becoming a participant rather than a mere observer.
The initial gallery sets the tone. Your eyes are immediately drawn to Non-Indépliables, nues (2010/2020), a series of drying racks standing sentinel in the centre. Strings of lights weave through the metal frames, casting an ethereal glow. A projected image flickers on the wall behind them, its content veiled in a wash of light. Two leather armchairs beckon you to sit and contemplate, while a long string of bells hanging from the ceiling occasionally chimes with a gentle sway. Every few minutes, a clicking sound pierces the quiet hum, emanating from the old slide projector at the back. The invigilator, seemingly part of the performance itself, rises intermittently, shaking the bells and adding their soft melody to the soundscape.
Throughout Leap Year, Yang masterfully blends the familiar with the unexpected – a sense of playfulness present in the way she utilises ordinary materials. Yet, beneath the surface lies a subtle tension, a suggestion of something deeper that invites you to contemplate the spaces between light and shadow, order and chaos, the seen and unseen. Yang creates immersive experiences, drawing on inspiration from diverse histories, including East Asian tradition and folklore. By utilising the domestic, she seeks to highlight issues of labour, migration and displacement.
The final gallery sees a stand-out multisensory installation. The viewer is invited to sit at the back of the space, as experimental instrumental music pours from speakers on both sides. A spotlight darts across the room, momentarily revealing a forest of Venetian blinds hanging suspended above. On occasion, the light filters behind the blinds like the morning sun. However, as the music intensifies, the spotlight becomes the lead character. The tones evoke a sense of looming danger, creating an atmosphere of suspense that leaves you unsure whether you’re witnessing a performance or a prelude to something more sinister.
Haegue Yang: Leap Year is an exhibition that demands your full attention, a multi-sensory exploration that invites you to engage with the world around you in a new light. This boundary-pushing exhibition is not to be missed.
Review by Amy Melling
Haegue Yang: Leap Year is showing at Hayward Gallery until 5 January 2025. Find out more information and purchase tickets here.
Featured Image: Installation view of Haegue Yang: Leap Year, 2024. Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun, 2024. Photo: Mark Blower. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.
Read Amy’s latest Review: Fragile Beauty – Timeless Moments from the Sir Elton John & David Furnish Photography Collection at V&A
