Double Square 双方藝廊

Double Square Gallery is proud to announce the solo exhibition of Taiwanese artist Isa Ho, "Undertow Drift," running from March 21 to April 25, 2026. This project originated from Ho's "Ukraine Project" and was previously presented in the 2025 autumn exhibition "Before the Future," curated by Ukrainian curator Marta Trotsiuk at the Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery and the Kyiv National Art Gallery. Returning to Taiwan for this solo presentation, Ho employs her unique perspective to capture the silent yet forceful gravity beneath the surging waves of war, transforming the lived experience under autocratic aggression into a visual archive of social resilience, cultural identity, and human connection.

Isa Ho has long focused on social frameworks, exploring how culture shapes life through series ranging from her early work I am Snow White to Westbeth, which documented an artists' apartment complex in New York. In 2025, driven by anxiety regarding contemporary life and a curiosity about the tenacity of the Ukrainian people, she traveled to Kyiv and Lviv three times. There, she immersed herself in the living spaces of fifteen female artists who continued to create amidst the conflict, developing a body of work that weaves together their personal narratives with her visual research. Ho profoundly realized that once war is rendered visible, the anxiety born of its profound disruptions becomes starkly apparent. Beyond life itself, all notions of integrity—society, family, the body, time, and perception—as well as the continuity of life, are subjected to a shared variable. This state of vulnerability under upheaval simultaneously catalyzes extreme possibilities, creating a world that urgently relies on the power of imagination.

During her time in Ukraine, the question Ho encountered most frequently was: "We have no choice, but why are you here?" In the absence of choice, life must be rewritten and society needs to be restructured. Elements previously perceived as the most fragile links have become pivotal forces: culture shapes Ukrainian national identity; art breaks through international communication barriers while providing internal solace; women become the pillars of social operation; and empathy weaves the relationships between individuals.

The exhibition title, "Undertow Drift," serves as a metaphor for the heavy gravity submerged beneath the surface of upheaval that pulls life forward. Simultaneously, it reflects the resilience and lightness of life as it continues to wander and maneuver through this heavy backdrop. For Ho, this residency prompted a profound reflection on the concept of "happiness." In a peaceful society, happiness is often tied to personal achievement; however, in the extreme environment of wartime, when perfection loses its meaning, happiness transforms into a fluid resilience—embodied in daily care and the small determination to keep moving forward. The faces in her works, seemingly fragile yet resolute, or the seemingly absurd presence of a bathtub in a kitchen, all reveal the possibilities of life in extreme states. In addition to fifteen photographic works, the exhibition includes objects Ho brought back from Ukraine and works by local artists, presenting the reality of life after the outbreak of war. Ultimately, the exhibition asks the Taiwanese audience: when the definition of happiness is forced to be rewritten, what will our imagination look like?

Isa Ho (b. 1977, Keelung, Taiwan) holds an MFA from Taipei National University of the Arts. Currently specializing in image-based creation, she utilizes the meticulous compositional ingenuity from her early experience in oil painting as the foundation for her photography. Ho proposes alternative possibilities for photographic storytelling, exploring modern human experiences and social values to create a unique photographic vocabulary. She is a two-time Asian Cultural Council Grantee (2012, 2014) and the recipient of the 2011 Kaohsiung Award.

Her works are held in the collections of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Hong-Gah Museum, and the White Rabbit Gallery (Australia). She has completed residencies at ISCP in New York (2013, 2015) and Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (2009). Ho has been nominated for the Prix Pictet and the Asia Pioneer Photographer award, and has been invited to exhibit in France, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, India, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United States.