In 2026, Hong Kong House will host a Special Exhibition titled “STiTCH OUR iNNER LAND” featuring two artists, Toby Crispy and Mire Yu.
The character “艹” is pronounced “sō” and is a radical representing plants and flowers; “田” represents land, and “人” represents people. Its shape resembles the movement of a needle, symbolizing how people connect humanity and nature through needlework. Hong Kong, teeming with hustle and bustle, and Tsunan town, enveloped in tranquility.
These two distant lands each harbor distinct climates, landscapes, and rhythms of life. Centering on the character “人” (person), the artists traveled back and forth between the two regions, gathering 49 stories that delicately reflect the land, memories, and daily life. Through the art of embroidery, they have woven a collective memory that transcends regional boundaries, allowing the city and the mountain village to converse and intertwining the past with the present.Furthermore, the artwork uses the plants and trees of the mountains and fields as a medium to transform the breath of nature—often overlooked in daily life—into an art installation, guiding viewers toward a sense of resonance through the dialogue between people and nature. As you quietly contemplate the yukata, shirts, indigo-dyed silk-linen fabrics, and plant installations within the artwork, the landscapes and stories within your own memories may well be revived.
Visitors are invited to pick up a strand of washi paper thread and sew the character for “person” onto the displayed net, thereby adding their own footprint to the artwork. We hope you’ll join us in creating this piece of art!
Photo by Nakamura Osamu
Photo by Nakamura Osamu
Photo by Nakamura Osamu
Photo by Nakamura Osamu
Author Profile
Toby Crispy
Toby Crispy (Wei-Yen Lin), an artist who weaves time, uses vintage clothing as her canvas to stitch memories between layers of fabric.Since 2013, she has been addressing overconsumption through upcycling. Guided by the concept that “time resides within textiles,” she reestablishes connections between people, hands, and stories through mending, redesign, and re-experiencing, thereby awakening the time and memories etched into garments.Her project, “Slow Stitch Nomad (SLOW STiTCH NOMAD),” has gathered over 300 real-life stories and approximately 2,000 participants from 2020 to the present, becoming a living archive of memories collectively woven by the community.In 2024, “SLOW STiTCH NOMAD @ Yugai” received the Bronze Award at the “A’ Design Award,” an international design award in Italy, and was recognized for its efforts to rebuild a culture of cherishing objects and emotional connections.
Mire Yu
Mire Yu (Yu Meiling), an “interpreter of plants,” was deeply influenced by ikebana and traditional Japanese culture, and graduated from Kyoto University of Art and Design (now Kyoto University of the Arts) in 2014.Many of her artworks, which use natural materials as their medium, are not intentionally designed but are created improvisationally as she attunes herself to the breath of the materials and the rhythm of her hands. For her, creation is a process of connecting the beauty of nature with the spirit of culture. Through resonance with natural materials, she expresses the purest form of nature within stillness.
Hong Kong House
A residency and gallery facility serving as a permanent hub for cultural exchange with Hong Kong. The design was selected through an open call from a team of young architects led by Yip Chun Hang, who garnered attention at events such as the 2012 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition.Throughout the year, the facility will continuously develop a diverse range of regional exchange programs in collaboration with Hong Kong universities, cultural institutions, and local governments. It will also host artists, performers, and writers selected through competitions for artist residencies and exhibitions of their artworks. ≫Hong Kong House
Photo by Nakamura Osamu
Summary
| Date and time | July 18 (Sat) – August 30 (Sun), 2026 (except Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and September 5 (Mon) – November 8 (Sun), 2026 (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) |
|---|---|
| Venue |
Hong Kong House (29-4 Miyanohara, Kami-go, Tsunan town, Naka-Uonuma District, Niigata Prefecture) |
| Admission |
Individual admission: Adults 600 yen / Elementary and Middle School Students 300 yen (valid at both Kamigo Clove Theatre and Hong Kong House), or a Common Ticket
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Official Tours / Itineraries
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