The Hayward Gallery presents Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart

The Hayward Gallery presents Chiharu Shiota: Threads of Life and Yin Xiuzhen: Heart to Heart, concurrent exhibitions from two innovative and globally celebrated artists who use ordinary materials to create extraordinary works on a monumental scale. Featuring new commissions and key existing pieces, these exhibitions explore the different ways both artists interweave textiles and found objects into deeply personal reflections on memory, identity and the human condition. Both presentations build on the Southbank Centre’s commitment to introducing international artists to new audiences and form part of its nationwide 75th anniversary celebrations, which run throughout 2026 and span events across London and the UK.

Yung Ma, Senior Curator of the Hayward Gallery, says: “These solo exhibitions celebrate Yin and Shiota’s clearly distinct artistic styles and approaches, reflecting the different generations, places and teachings that have impacted their work. Yet, these artists can be seen as united by a sensibility – one that elevates their own personal perspectives to reflect on our wider shared experiences.”

Ralph Rugoff, Director of the Hayward Gallery, says: “Continuing the Gallery’s legacy of showcasing artists whose installations interact with the Hayward’s iconic architecture, this is a very exciting and moving pair of exhibitions. Both Yin and Shiota elevate humble, everyday materials into profound and poetic artistic statements. Exploring the tension between personal and collective memory and the transience of contemporary life, each artist’s work emphasises intimacy through tactile traces of human presence, while their immersive installations draw audiences into reflective, almost meditative spatial interactions. Transforming the objects we live with and leave behind, each artist offers a deeply human and emotionally charged experience .”