Hiram TO
BIO
B. 1964 – D. 2017
Hiram To (杜子卿) was an artist who worked in conceptual-based installations. He was also a writer in the visual arts, popular culture, film and fashion. Born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents, Hiram To lived in Scotland and Australia. He has widely exhibited in Australian public galleries and internationally, with works acquired by institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, Powerhouse Museum and the Queensland Art Gallery. Hiram was invited by London’s Camden Arts Centre to exhibit a one-person exhibition in 1994. The invitation was the first Chinese artist solo show at a British contemporary art museum. The Winnipeg Art Gallery, the State Gallery of Manitoba in Canada also presented a selected projects survey of the artist in 2002.
He was one of three artists representing Hong Kong at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. As a curator, he has collaborated with Institute of Modern Art Brisbane, Artspace Sydney, Ipswich Regional Art Gallery and Next Wave Festival in Australia, and Hong Kong’s Goethe-Institut.
Since 1995, he resided in Hong Kong and worked in communications and journalism. His writings have appeared in South China Morning Post, Harpers Bazaar Hong Kong, C for Culture, City Magazine, The Standard and many other English and Chinese language publications. Hiram To’s work tackles the nature of changing identity and its relationships with the mass media and personal / public interface.Taking reference from a wide variety of sources such as literature, film, art and popular culture, he creates multi-layered installations that embrace and challenge the way that identity is constructed or fragmented.
You can find out more information through his book: Hiram To- Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Art Practice Keywords:
Visual Artist, Conceptual Artist, Installation
Artist Role Keywords:
Curator, Writer, Educator, Media Relations Professional
Collaboration/ Collaborator names Keywords:
Queensland Artworker’s Alliance, That Contemporary Art Space, John Mills National, Breathing Concrete, Aglassofwater, Isn’t
Collections
Various Private Collections
CV
Hiram To was born in Hong Kong in 1964 and died in Hong Kong in March, 2017. He lived in Scotland from 1978-83, and in Australia from 1986-95 where he was a mainstay of the vibrant artist-run scene in Brisbane and South east Queensland. Hiram To lived in Hong Kong from 1995- 2017 where his writing was regularly published in South China Morning Post, Bazaar Hong Kong and City Magazine.
Education
Hong Kong, Scotland and Australia
Exhibitions
- Bazaar Art Hong Kong, Issue No.1, Harper’s Bazaar Hong Kong, Commissioning editor & writer – May 2013
- Twin Peaks 20th Anniversary Menier Gallery, London – 31 October – 3 November 2012
- Garlands, Amelia Johnson Contemporary, Hong Kong – 28 June – 28 July 2012
- One Suitcase Per Person: David Diao, Ken Lum, Hiram To – 1a space, Hong Kong- to 31 January 2012
- Canto 6, Harper’s Bazaar Hong Kong July 2011 Art issue,Festival Walk Hong Kong – July 2011
- FOR YOUR PLEASURE with Scott Redford, 2p Contemporary, Hong Kong – May 2011
Major Publication
2005
150 page hardcover monograph published by The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2002
Rare, Labelle Salon
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
1997
…you don’t know how I feel, Para/Site, Hong Kong
1995
The Skin I’m In, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
The Skin I’m In, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
The Skin I’m In, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Australia Something’s Got To Give… (Performing Attitudes and Other Habits), ISNT, Brisbane, Australia
1994
High Performance, Camden Arts Centre, London, England
Performing Attitudes, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Australia
The Skin I’m In, in 600,000 Hours (Mortality), Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide
1992
‘KARAOKE’, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
‘KARAOKE’, Ipswich Regional Art Gallery, Ipswich, Australia
‘KARAOKE’, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia
‘KARAOKE’, Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Australia
‘KARAOKE’, Fine Arts Department, The University of Hong Kong
1991
Casual Victim, Michael Milburn Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1990
object, Milburn + Arte, Brisbane, Australia
1989
Objects of Permanence, Bureau Artspace, Brisbane, Australia
Pseudonyms, Milburn + Arte, Brisbane, Australia
1987
Irrelevance, John Mills National, Brisbane, Australia Drained (Prerequisites), Hong Kong Festival Fringe
Selected Curatorial / Exhibition Coordination
2000
Damage, Würth Gallery, Goethe Institut, Hong Kong (conceptualiser)
1999
Bad Rice, Dimension Endowment of Art, Taipei, Taiwan (curator)
1998
National Museum or Gallery?,1aspace launch, 1aspace, Hong Kong (conceptualiser)
Bad Rice, Next Wave Festival, SPAN Galleries, Melbourne; The Performance Space, Sydney, Australia; 1aspace, Hong Kong (curator)Emotions! L.A. Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany (conceptualiser)
1996
Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Hong Kong Festival Fringe (curator)
1995
MAO TSE TUNG HOUR, Ipswich Regional Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (curator)
1993
HERE NOT THERE, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane; Umbrella Studios, Townsville, Australia (curator)
1990
Respect, Milburn + Arte, Brisbane (curator)
VACHE for AIDS, AGLASSOFWATER at Site, Brisbane, Australia (coordinator)
1989
Bureau Artspace, Brisbane, Australia (coordinator)
Stealing Blind, Artspace, Sydney, Australia (conceptualiser)
1987
Belles Lettres, John Mills National, Brisbane, Australia (co-curator)
Breathing Concrete, The Andrew Warhola Memorial Show, Victoria Bridge, South Bank, Brisbane, Australia (curator)
Selected Projects
2006
Interview with Scott Redford, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
1995
Lucky! with Lana Wong, Hong Kong Fringe Festival
1994
Blind Time, Unrealised public art commission, Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
1989
Estate, with Diena Georgetti, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
1987
One Night Only / Lush, THAT Contemporary Artspace, Brisbane, Australia
Selected Group Exhibitions
2008
Shapeshifters, Jonathon Smart Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand
2007
Star Fairy, 52nd International Art Exhibition: Venice Biennale (Curated by Norman Ford)
2005
Desire, Para/site Art Space, Hong Kong (Curated by Tobias Berger)
2004
This Is Not America, QCA Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Surface Tension –The Artist In The Image, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia
2003
This Is Not America, Galerie Bai-Schuler, Düsseldorf, Germany (curated by Scott Redford)
2002
Other Views, QCA Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Timothy Morrell)
2000
Damage, Würth Gallery, Goethe Institut, Hong Kong
Asia in Australia, Global Artslink, Ipswich, Australia (curated by Morris Low)
1998
Painting Hong Kong, 1aspace, Hong Kong
Emotions! L.A. Galerie, Frankfurt, Germany
1997
Evolution and Revolution – Chinese Dress 1700s to Now, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia (curated by Claire Roberts)
Power Corruption and Lies, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Scott Redford)
1996
Recollections – The Griffith University Art Collection 25 years, Brisbane City Hall Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Beth Jackson)
Power Corruption and Lies, Ploetz Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Scott Redford)
Celebration, Yung Shue Wan Football Ground, Lamma Island, Hong Kong (curated by Kam Ping Hiller)
1995
Active Agents –AIDS Art in Australia, First Draft, Sydney, Australia (curated by Jill Benett and John Turner)
Active Agents –AIDS Art in Australia, The University Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston Campus, Tasmania, Australia
1994
Remain In Light, Blaxland Gallery, Grace Brothers, Sydney, Australia (curated by Scott Redford and Luke Roberts)
Pitch, The Performance Space, Sydney, Australia (curated by Billy Crawford)
Interfaces – Art and Technology, Ron McMaster Gallery, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus and various North Queensland venues, Australia (curated by Beth
Jackson for Griffith Artworks)
Active Agents –AIDS Art in Australia, Canberra School of Art, Canberra, Australia
F.O.I., Noosa Regional Gallery, Noosa, Australia (curated by Chris Downie)
1993
Installation and Objecthood, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, Australia (curated by Rex Butler)
Installation and Objecthood, Michael Milburn Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Installation and Objecthood, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Australia You Are Here, Martin Browne Fine Art, Sydney, Australia (curated by Scott Redford and Luke Roberts)
You Are Here, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia
1992
You Are Here, AGLASSOFWATER at Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
‘KARAOKE’, ARX3 Artists’ Regional Exchange at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, The University of Western Australia and Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Perth, Australia
1991
Body Without Organs, First Draft West, Sydney, Australia
Instant Imaging, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (curated by Anne Kirker)
Doors, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast, Australia
Microcosm, Garry Anderson Gallery, Sydney, Australia (curated by Ewen McDonald)
1990
In Full Sunlight, First Draft West, Sydney, Australia
Proposals, Artspace, Sydney, Australia (curated by David O’ Halloran)
Mist from the Chest, AGLASSOFWATER at Site, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Scott Redford and Luke Roberts)
Ideal Format, Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin, Australia
NO, AGLASSOFWATER at Milburn + Arte, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Scott Redford)
Dies/appearance, National touring project, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane and other venues, Australia (curated by Charles Anderson)
1989
Proposals, George Paton Gallery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Proposals, Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Salle de Reconnaissance, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Michele Helmrich)
Salle de Reconnaissance, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia
Salle de Reconnaissance, 200 Gertrude Street, Melbourne, Australia
Victory Over The Sun, First Draft, Sydney, Australia (curated by Clinton Garofano and John Young)
Random Access, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by John Waller)
Visual Poetics, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Nicholas Zurbrugg)
Private View, Public Spaces, Queensland Art Gallery programme, City Plaza, Brisbane, Australia
In Full Sunlight, AGLASSOFWATER, Brisbane, Australia (collated by Scott Redford and Luke Roberts)
In Full Sunlight, The Greater Western, Melbourne, Australia
Uncommon Knowledge, Institute of Modern Art programme, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Diena Georgetti)
Outside the Greed of Silence, Institute of Modern Art programme, Arch Lane Public Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Allen Furlong)
1988
(I)magical Poetics, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (curated by Urszula Szulakowska)
Site of Execution, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia (selected by Richard Perram, Rose Lang and Stieg Persson)
Work to Screen (Projecting Performance), Queensland College of Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia (curated by John Stafford)
Bureau, Bureau Artspace, Brisbane, Australia
1987
Performance Season, John Mills National, Brisbane, Australia
Out of Context, The Kennedy Road Exhibition, Eu’s Mansion, Hong Kong
IMA Performance Season, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (curated by Virginia Barratt)
1986
Hong Kong Fringe Festival
1985
Hong Kong Fringe Festival
Public Collections
The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Griffith University Collection, Brisbane, Australia
University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia
Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Brisbane, Australia
Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Gold Coast, Australia
Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, Australia
Links