Trichiasis
Solo exhibition at Hart Haus
With support from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC)
Photos: Studio Lights On & Felix SC Wong.
Trichiasis, a solo exhibition by Hou Lam Tsui, employs medical terminology to describe the condition where eyelashes grow inward, deviating from their natural trajectory, thereby dissecting the beauty of failure. Such aesthetics of failure lies in a refusal to acquiesce to the dominant logics of power and discipline. This “wrong way” growth is reimagined here as a radical force, one that challenges norms, orders, and systemic power from feminist and queer perspectives. In Glitch Feminism, Legacy Russell reclaims the “glitch” not as a malfunction, but as a subversive and powerful rupture. Similarly, as Jack Halberstam explores in The Queer Art of Failure, there is something profoundly queer about failure, “failing is what queer have always done exceptionally well.” Departing from her continuous critical exploration of gender politics, feminine affects, and the media narratives, Hou Lam Tsui continues her exploration of the feminine experience through bodily states—as seen in earlier works employing pathologies like “geographic tongue” (Hard Tongue on Pillow, 2021) and “hangnail” (Hangnail, 2024). This exhibition sheds light on the notions of love and desire, revealing how women gain agency through fantasy—empowering themselves to transform from objects of desire into subjects who boldly express their own longings.
Trichiasis, a solo exhibition by Hou Lam Tsui, employs medical terminology to describe the condition where eyelashes grow inward, deviating from their natural trajectory, thereby dissecting the beauty of failure. Such aesthetics of failure lies in a refusal to acquiesce to the dominant logics of power and discipline. This “wrong way” growth is reimagined here as a radical force, one that challenges norms, orders, and systemic power from feminist and queer perspectives. In Glitch Feminism, Legacy Russell reclaims the “glitch” not as a malfunction, but as a subversive and powerful rupture. Similarly, as Jack Halberstam explores in The Queer Art of Failure, there is something profoundly queer about failure, “failing is what queer have always done exceptionally well.” Departing from her continuous critical exploration of gender politics, feminine affects, and the media narratives, Hou Lam Tsui continues her exploration of the feminine experience through bodily states—as seen in earlier works employing pathologies like “geographic tongue” (Hard Tongue on Pillow, 2021) and “hangnail” (Hangnail, 2024). This exhibition sheds light on the notions of love and desire, revealing how women gain agency through fantasy—empowering themselves to transform from objects of desire into subjects who boldly express their own longings.