In everyday life, we are frequently faced with choices. While these choices may appear to be made freely, they are often subtly guided by numerous invisible forces. Across various contexts—whether at home, at work, or in public spaces—individuals are constantly required to balance their personal needs with external expectations, undergoing both compromise and resistance. These contexts can sometimes resemble invisible battlefields, fraught with conflict and contradiction. They infiltrate our actions and thoughts, creating an ingrained structures of power. Within such frameworks, can our so-called ‘freedom of choice’ ever truly transcend established norms? The exhibition A Little Thing, A Grand Swing seeks to explore the tensions and contradictions within everyday contexts through the works of three artists, inviting viewers to reconsider behaviours and values often taken for granted.

Puwei Wu’s series Kaiju Boom employs AI to reinterpret the visual language of 1970s Japanese tokusatsu films, transforming it into a painterly medium. Through rich textures and layered materiality, the works depict a constructed ‘artificial landscape’ imbued with nostalgic drama, while simultaneously exposing the fragility and absurdity of humanity within a broader macrocosmic framework. The use of war symbols and elements of pop culture are interwoven, reflecting the cultural contradictions arising from globalisation and geopolitics. These works also address contemporary issues of warfare, encouraging reflection on how ‘symbols’ embedded in daily life shape our perceptions and beliefs.

Hojan’s abstract paintings delve into the inner states of human existence through blocks of colour, expressive gestures and unconventional spatial narratives. For instance, the painting The Fleeing Feet, featured in this exhibition, spans nearly five years of creation. It began in a dimly lit room in the United States, was put aside for two years during a studio relocation, and was only completed after being moved to Taiwan. The artist describes the creative journey of this work as akin to an intimate dialogue, reflecting her struggles amidst life’s challenges. Hojan’s work responds to the individual’s position within social structures, creating abstract narrative spaces that invite viewers to project their own experiences onto the painting, considering contemplation between habitual constraints and the desire for freedom.

The artist duo Puwei Wu and Yichia Huang take a humorous approach to exploring the  symbols of war embedded in consumer culture. They deconstruct objects typically associated with war, such as toy models and military-themed cookware, and re-encode them, so that they are no longer mere souvenirs or cultural products. Instead, these objects become a starting point for viewers to re-examine history, highlighting the public’s power to freely interpret these symbols. Through multiple perspectives, the artists seek to reveal the hidden workings of ideology within consumer society, drawing attention to the tension and rupture between daily life and the history of war. From this deconstruction, they attempt to find moments of humorous resistance.

In A Little Thing, A Grand Swing, the artists use a variety of materials and languages to outline the complexity of everyday life. Through their works, they deconstruct what might initially seem like a peaceful existence, revealing layers of contradictions and the unknown, offering a profound critique of social power structures and individual struggles. Everyday spaces are not simply the backdrop of our lives; they are battlegrounds where power and symbols intertwine. Here, even the smallest choice carries significant social implications. Thus, as the year draws to a close and the new year approaches, this exhibition invites the viewers to reflect on and re-engage with the subtleties of everyday life. Through the artists’ works, we are reminded that only by becoming conscious of these invisible struggles can we seek freedom within the contradictions.