For the past few years, Korean Canadian artist Zadie Xa has been exploring the afterlife through her art. “I think the main reason for this is because of the Covid [situation] we’re currently living in,” says Xa upon reflection. “We haven’t had a chance to fully acknowledge what’s happened or mourn properly.” Death, grief and remembrance have been occupying her mind and consequently materialising in her work.
Shrines, shamans and characters adapted from Korean folklore find themselves centre stage at Xa’s exhibition House Gods, Animal Guides and Five Ways 2 Forgiveness at Whitechapel Gallery in London, a show that reflects on the loss and upheaval experienced during the pandemic. It opened to the public on September 20, a day after Queen Elizabeth II’s historic funeral, an outcome that isn’t lost on Xa.
“It’s so weird; believe me, I know,” says the artist, standing in the ground-level gallery where her work is on view; a room that used to be the Whitechapel library. “It’s been a strange atmosphere these past few days.”
Founded in 1901, Whitechapel Gallery was established to bring great art from around the world
