SWEET
LABOUR II
THE COST OF COEXISTENCE
EXHIBITION
DETAILS
ABOUT
Coexistence is often spoken of as an achievement. In practice, it is an ideal that is fought for through ongoing, unevenly distributed labour.
The second iteration of the Sweet Labour series, Sweet Labour II: The Cost of Coexistence, presents four contemporary artists: Mary Curtis, Victoria Edin, Jimmy Ma‘ia‘i and Kiyoshi Yamamoto, whose work carry and disclose the labour of pursuing equity within colonial, capitalist and patriarchal systems.
Staged within a claw machine, a universally acknowledged rigged game, the interactive display requests the burden of participation when the odds are knowingly stacked against you. It asks if we are willing to pay for the cost of equity and labour for prizes just out of reach.
What would you do to coexisit?CURATORIAL STATEMENT
Describing the state where two or more entities occupy the same place at the same time, coexistence by its strict definition is neutral, registering only proximity and making no moral judgement.
In the aftermath of the Cold War, the word acquired a modifier, “peaceful coexistence”, within ethical, political and sociological discourse as a necessity. Over time the qualifier fused with the noun and coexistence gained a normative charge, implying a new standard for a harmonious and cooperative state of being between two or more groups.
Although the term has ascended towards an ideal, there remains a gap in practice. Within colonial, capitalistic and patriarchal systems and the structural legacies they leave, pay inequality, land dispossession and displacement to name a few, coexistence is rarely equitable.
If coexistence is to move beyond the basis of sharing space through tolerance or forced presence, and towards a more equitable equilibrium, then it requires negotiation and demands labour: mental, physical and emotional.
LABOUR THAT IS RARELY DISTRIBUTED EVENLY.
Sweet Labour II: The Cost of Coexistence, the second iteration of the Sweet Labour series, turns focus upon invisible labour that goes into the pursuit of equity within occupied space that may not have been shared by choice.
Featuring Mary Curtis, Victoria Edin, Jimmy Ma‘ia‘i and Kiyoshi Yamamoto, four contemporary artists whose practice take on the burden of moving the needle towards equity within colonial, capitalistic and patriarchal systems, addressing contemporary discourse surrounding sustainable practices, women’s autonomy, migration, diaspora and cultural identity.
Staged inside a custom claw machine, a machine universally understood to be rigged, the interactive display requests the burden of participation when the odds are knowingly stacked against you. It asks if we are willing to pay for the cost of equity, and labour for prizes just out of reach.
Sweet Labour is an exhibition series that questions the invisible systems that attribute artistic and monetary value through the juxtaposition of labour-intensive works placed in displays symbolic of mass production and consumption.
GRACE LAI
2026
LOCATION & HOURS
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF MERCY
IGREJA DE NOSSA SENHORA DAS MERCÊS DE LISBOA
LARGO DE JESUS
1200-317 LISBOA
PORTUGAL
WORKS
001
BUSH FINDS
NECKLACE SET
MARY CURTIS
DETAILS
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice is grounded in sustainability and shaped by a deep interest in the life cycle of the materials I use, from where they come from to where they end up.
Since 2019, I have focused on reducing waste and encouraging new ways of thinking about how we value resources. All of the materials I use are sustainably sourced and any by-products from materials and processes can be recycled.
I am drawn to the small moments, a leaf, a seed, these are elemental forms that humans have been adorning themselves with for thousands of years.
Bush Finds is a dialogue between the wearer and the world around them, a work where the wearer selects pieces to suit their mood for that moment of wearing.
Both of these works are made with a forager’s eye. They are a reminder of how deeply we are tethered to the earth, and how, for all the noise of life, the quiet finds us if we are still enough to listen.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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002
SEED TO LEAF
NECKLACE
MARY CURTIS
DETAILS
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice is grounded in sustainability and shaped by a deep interest in the life cycle of the materials I use, from where they come from to where they end up.
Since 2019, I have focused on reducing waste and encouraging new ways of thinking about how we value resources.
Seed to Leaf Necklace talks about the constant cycles of decay and renewal.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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003
I’M A LITTLE TEAPOT
LITTLE LEAKS
VICTORIA EDIN
DETAILS
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
ARTIST STATEMENT
I’m a Little Teapot… is a continued exploration into the joys of aging. As I enter the yet uncharted territory of perimenopause a quick Google search has left me somewhat alarmed as to what Mother Nature may have in store.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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004
EMPTY VESSEL
VICTORIA EDIN
DETAILS
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
ARTIST STATEMENT
Empty Vessel emerged from a series of works discussing bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.
Combining metal and textiles they feature a pair of vintage shapewear, the kind designed with the sole purpose of controlling and shaping the body.
Here they are then embellished with applique, embroidery and pearls in a celebration of domestic handy crafts.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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005
DON’T TUCK
YOUR ULA
JIMMY MA‘IA‘I
DETAILS
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND
ARTIST STATEMENT
One aspect of hip hop culture that always fascinated me was the glitz, the gold chains, the diamonds, the customised jewellery. I always wanted a chain, and, frankly, I still do.
The chains, a staple in hip-hop culture, were initially worn to imitate the self-made big shots in the neighbourhood. Now, they serve as an almost-embodied, personal exhibit of fame and fortune. In any case, they have become a status symbol.
An ula fala, in this sense, shared similar characteristics, historically given to ali‘i, high chiefs, and tulafale, speaking chiefs, and also reflected the status and power of the wearer.
Among the diaspora, the ula fala is a symbol of identity more than anything, an assertion of one’s Samoan-ness, and is worn with pride.
Don’t Tuck Your Ula combines the traditional form of the pandanus seed garland with symbols of wealth, fame and status that are deeply ingrained into the aesthetics of modern hip-hop.
The blending of these visual languages questions conversations around cultural authenticity and argues that, despite the clearly foreign influence, this is, at its core, a Samoan ula.
It embodies an understanding that hip-hop culture, a culture which Samoans are indeed successful participants in, has had a major influence on our diasporic communities.
Don’t Tuck Your Ula is ultimately a symbol of pride, a toast to success.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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006
NOT YOUR
EXOTIC
KIYOSHI YAMAMOTO
DETAILS
ARTIST STATEMENT
TO BE ADDED.
CURATORIAL INTERPRETATION
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CURATED BY
GRACE LAI
ABOUT GRACE
CURATOR BIOGRAPHY TO BE ADDED.
WHAT WOULD
YOU DO TO
COEXIST?
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This exhibition would not have been possible without the trust and generosity of the exhibiting artists: Mary Curtis, Victoria Edin, Jimmy Ma‘ia‘i and Kiyoshi Yamamoto.
The realisation of the exhibition drew on the support and voluntary labour of people who believed and championed this project.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Marta Costa Reis for inviting me to participate and assist in couriering a selection of the works; Carlos Silva for his patience and assistance; Frida Rusnak and Johanna Zellmer for their enthusiasm and feedback; Lola Ibanez for donating the base build.
A special thanks to collaborators, Joy Lai for steering a cohesive visual design and Daniel Dausch Ibanez for his technical expertise.