The Needle as a Weapon: Reimagining Power and the Weaponized Horizon

The needle is often perceived as a tool of domestic repair, yet it holds a sharp potential to pierce through the heavy layers of political history. In a world where global tension is increasingly mediated through high-definition screens, the physical act of suturing provides a necessary counterpoint to the sterilized machinery of modern warfare. By bringing military symbols into the realm of the everyday, this work interrogates the visibility of power in the spaces above us.

At a time when global conflict is increasingly mediated through high-definition screens and satellite networks, the physical act of suturing takes on a newfound urgency. It serves as a visceral counterpoint to the distant, sterilized machinery of modern warfare that now dominates the atmospheric space above us.

In her exhibition “Under One Sky” at gdm Hong Kong, Chen bridges the gap between the intimate and the infinite. Her practice has long explored the tension between the fragile and the formidable, beginning with early installations that utilized the ephemeral nature of cotton and thread.

These materials are not merely aesthetic choices but vehicles for a deeper inquiry into how we occupy space. By integrating aviation military symbols into everyday objects, Chen highlights the subtle ways in which the language of combat has seeped into the fabric of ordinary life.

The inclusion of works such as “Airco DH-4 1916-1918” and “Starlink” signals a shift from the historical to the contemporary. These pieces trace the evolution of the sky from a source of wonder to a strategically mapped battlefield, where even the stars are rewritten as navigational tools for destruction.

Using unconventional materials like ping-pong balls and LED lighting, the artist constructs a visual vocabulary that is both playful and ominous. This duality reflects the complex nature of human ambition, which often masks its darker impulses under the guise of progress and connectivity.

The exhibition draws significant inspiration from the Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, specifically the humble apologies found in her work “Under One Small Star.” This literary connection grounds the visual elements in a tradition of questioning one’s place within a vast, often indifferent universe.

By juxtaposing the delicacy of a hand-sewn stitch with the cold precision of a satellite array, the work forces a confrontation with the material reality of power. It asks how the collective gaze has shifted from looking upward in hope to looking upward in apprehension.

Ultimately, the project functions as a meditation on the shared horizon. It serves as a reminder that while the tools of dominance may grow more sophisticated, the basic human need for repair and reconciliation remains as constant as the sky itself.