Hsiao-Chu (Julia)
Hsia
夏
小筑
The Third Party
2024
Solo Exhibition, Queens College Art Center, Queens College, Flushing, NY, USA
2023 Queens Arts Fund: New Work Grant funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA.)
Curated by Tzu-Ying (Naomi) Chan.
Support by Queens College Art Center, Queens College, Flushing, NY, USA.
The Third Party is a performance and installation project by Hsiao-Chu Hsia, addressing the topic of anti-war and advocating for peace. Reflecting on the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, the conflict in Gaza, and documented battles throughout human history, the title "third party" points out the group of people who are trapped in the crossfire, caught between the two hostile sides. They are the majority of infants, children, and women. No matter which side they belong to, they have no choice but to become the “third party” in the war to suffer.
Through this project, Hsia aims to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis caused by man-made conflicts and create an opportunity for people to rethink and discuss this international issue. By inviting people to participate in this performance, Hsia switches the audience’s role from passive spectators to participants, to motivate people to see this topic from another perspective.
Photo Credit: Luke Liu
This piece also demonstrates a novel host-guest relationship between the artist and the audience to achieve audience engagement. As the boundaries of the performance stage are erased, people are able to join the process and become a part of the work, enriching the context with varied outcomes.










Photo Credit: Luke Liu
The performance includes two parts: a solo movement and an interactive section. Hsia starts with a solo movement to bring out the narrative and the topic, following the interactive section to invite people who would like to participate in the work and play the “revised” tug-of-war game. An audience’s role is assigned randomly by the artist without choices. When the two teams on both sides start pulling ropes, the team in the middle is naturally stuck in the circle. Without choice, they become the “third party” in a battle.
The installation is formed with ropes in a circle and plenty of confetti on the floor. Without a clear edge, it serves as the stage of the performance that erases the boundary between the artist and the audience to bring people closer. It is aimed to be disarranged after the performance and remain in the space, turning into an installation as a part of an exhibition. The results show the process, traces, and meaning behind the performance.




Photo Credit: Luke Liu
The big-scale drawing on the wall is a total of 20 sheets of Asian paper, cut and sawed into long scroll-style pieces. It is a scene of a woman holding a child tight while soldiers standing behind without knowing they are allies or enemies. Only the woman and the child are composed in bold lines which highlights the title again, emphasizing the issue of the humanitarian crisis and the group of people who suffer under crossfires. The choice of dark brown color with a warm tone is a natural and common color associated with battlefields and dried blood. When the color combines with abstract strokes, they imply numerous unrecognized bodies. Soldiers were drawn with thin but detailed lines. From right to left, little figures are fighting on paper with varied weapon inventions from the past (spears, knives) to the present (guns, grenades.)
Frank H. Wu, the president of Queens College, visited the exhibition with Julia del Palacio, the Associate Dean of the Queens College School of Arts.








Photo Credit: Andy Poon, Queens College
Exhibition mentioned in Frankly Speaking July 2024.
The Third Party project received the 2023 Queens Arts Fund: New Work Grant which was funded by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York, NY, USA, and administrated by the New York Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY, USA. It was presented as a solo exhibition curated by Tzu-Ying (Naomi) Chan with support from Queens College Art Center, Queens College, Flushing, NY, USA.